In today's competitive job market, finding the right talent is no longer simple. The best candidates are often passive job seekers, not actively searching for new opportunities but open to considering them if the right one comes along.
As seasoned recruiters, we understand that attracting candidates requires finesse, expertise, and a carefully crafted approach. Instead of chasing after candidates, allow us to show you how we can be the beacon that draws them to your organization in search of exciting new career opportunities.
&nbsp;
Personalised outreach that speaks to the candidates&rsquo; ambitions.
Reaching out to active or passive candidates with a generic and impersonal message is like throwing a message in a bottle into the ocean. Our recruitment experts understand the value of personalised engagement. Through thorough research and keen insights, we uncover what truly motivates each candidate, enabling us to tailor our messages to their unique aspirations. By showcasing how your company aligns with their long-term career goals, we ensure that your organisation stands out as the irresistible choice.  
Building Meaningful Connections
Forming authentic relationships with candidates is the cornerstone of our approach. We believe in cultivating connections and our specialist recruiters invest time in understanding each candidate's preferences, values, and ambitions, allowing us to present opportunities that genuinely resonate.  
Unveiling Exclusive Insights
We possess an extensive network that grants us insider knowledge on active or passive candidates who might be exploring opportunities discreetly. Our access to these exclusive insights and job boards gives us a distinct advantage in identifying the perfect fit for your organisation. By leveraging our extensive connections and industry expertise, we bring forth talent that would have otherwise remained hidden.  
Showcasing Your Company's Unique Appeal: Compelling job advertisements 
Your company's culture and values are the soul of your organisation. We take pride in crafting compelling job adverts that showcase this. By highlighting the unique benefits, growth opportunities, and exciting projects your organization offers, we captivate candidates and inspire them to envision a future as part of your team.  
A Seamless Journey to Success
Our recruitment process is designed to ensure a seamless journey for both candidates and clients. We go above and beyond to create an exceptional candidate experience, ensuring that every interaction leaves a positive and lasting impression. From initial contact to onboarding, we prioritize a seamless and pleasant journey for every individual, transforming candidates into enthusiastic brand ambassadors for your organisation.
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Reaching active and passive job candidates requires creativity, persistence, and a strategic approach. At Eligo we specialise in drawing top-tier candidates to your organisation with our personalised approach, genuine connections, exclusive insights, and compelling narratives.
Currently, hiring in your organisation? <a title="submit vacany " href="https://www.eligo.co.uk/submit-a-vacancy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Register your vacancy with us today.</a>

Unlocking hidden talent : Our strategies for finding top candidates

&nbsp;
<h4 class="MsoNormal">Update to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) 2024 </h4>
<h5 class="MsoNormal">Attention GP Practices &amp; Primary Care Networks:</h5>
As you know, NHS England's Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) was launched in 2019 to support the recruitment of essential roles within general practice. Entitling PCN's access to funding to support recruitment across the specific reimbursable roles: 
<ul>
<li>Clinical Pharmacists</li>
<li>Social Prescribing link workers</li>
<li>Physician Associates</li>
<li>Paramedics</li>
<li>First Contact Physiotherapists</li>
<li>Pharmacy Technicians</li>
<li>Occupational Therapists</li>
<li>Dietitians</li>
<li>Chiropodists / Podiatrists</li>
<li>Mental Health Practitioners</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
<h4>Here's what's new:</h4>
<h5> On September 28th, 2024, NHS England announced an expansion of the ARRS scheme.</h5>
With plans to give Primary Care Networks (PCNs) more staffing flexibility by including 'enhanced nurses' in the Additional Role Reimbursement Scheme.
This means you can now claim reimbursement for qualified Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANPs) salaries.
&nbsp;
<h4 class="MsoNormal">How does this benefit you?</h4>
&nbsp;
Optimise your budget: Utilise the ARRS scheme to reduce the financial burden of recruiting these highly skilled practitioners.
Address staff shortages: Fill open positions and improve team capacity to navigate busy periods like the upcoming half-term and Ramadan holidays.
Deliver exceptional care: Ensure continued high-quality patient care even during increased demand.
&nbsp;
<h4 class="MsoNormal">Eligo Medical is here to help!</h4>
&nbsp;
We know budget constraints are a current concern, so we can offer our qualified enhanced-level practitioner ANPs, Pharmacists and Nurse Associates which are available on&nbsp;the ARRS scheme. This will help to optimise your budget and staffing needs and help you navigate the increased demand during the upcoming half-term and Ramadan holidays.&nbsp; 
We also have a pool of highly qualified GPs and Practice Nurses, who can seamlessly integrate into your team.
Don't let staffing shortages impact your ability to deliver exceptional patient care.
Let our dedicated team work closely with you to ensure a smooth onboarding process.
&nbsp;
<h4 class="MsoNormal">Here's how to get started:</h4>
Visit our medical page here for more information.
Email us: hello@eligo.co.uk
Call us: 0208 971 1892
Together, let's ensure exceptional patient care and help you navigate the upcoming busy periods with confidence!

Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme Update: Enhanced Nurses Now Eligible! 

As the holiday season approaches and the festive cheer fills the air, it might seem tempting to kick back and take a break from the hustle and bustle of work. However, for companies with hiring plans on the horizon, getting a head start before the Christmas break can be a game-changer.
The optimal time to capture the attention of potential candidates is right now.&nbsp;Recent data from <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/cv-library/" data-attribute-index="0" data-entity-type="MINI_COMPANY">CV-Library</a>&nbsp;reveals a 62.5% increase in job applications compared to last year, and this trend is expected to soar even higher. 📈 As we approach the festive season, professionals are not just indulging in mince pies🥧 &ndash; they're actively browsing job boards, seizing the opportunity to kick off the new year with a fresh start.✨ Make the most of this surge in candidate activity! Secure your recruitment plans before the holiday season kicks in. In this blog, we'll explore the top reasons why posting job advertisements now is a strategic move and offer essential tips for a successful recruitment kick-off in 2024.
&nbsp;
<h4 class="MsoNormal">1. Beat the January Rush:</h4>
The post-holiday season often witnesses a surge in job seekers actively looking for new opportunities. By having your job advertisements up before the Christmas break, you gain a competitive advantage and attract the attention of top-tier candidates who are proactively planning their career moves.
<img src="https://cdn.sourceflow.co.uk/j4zic9ekrnf8s41avqimlad6h25j" alt="beat-the-january-rush-commuters-trainstation" width="600" height="402">
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<h4 class="MsoNormal">2. Stand Out in a Less Crowded Market:</h4>
As many companies wind down for the holidays, the job market becomes less saturated with job ads. This means your vacancies have a higher chance of standing out and capturing the interest of potential candidates who may be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of job listings in the New Year.
<img src="https://cdn.sourceflow.co.uk/u826noa4mi190irrfm3hdq86njj5" alt="standout-in-crowded-market-penguins" width="600" height="299">
&nbsp;
<h4 class="MsoNormal">3. Leverage a Relaxed Festive Atmosphere:</h4>
During the Christmas season, people are full of positivity and anticipation about the New Year ahead. Job seekers may find themselves more receptive to new opportunities during this time, making it an opportune moment to showcase your company culture, values, and the exciting roles you have to offer.
<img src="https://cdn.sourceflow.co.uk/q0pj5mo3pkqp7zhpxhamb9nr57k7" alt="festive-calm-atmosphere" width="600" height="384">
&nbsp;
<h4 class="MsoNormal">4. Get Ahead of Competitors:</h4>
Launching your job advertisements now positions your company ahead of competitors who might be waiting until the New Year. This head start allows you to build relationships with candidates before they get inundated with multiple job offers, giving you a better chance of securing top talent.
&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.sourceflow.co.uk/lzfjni4wffftruhr37ypqsonq0l4" alt="get-ahead-of-competition-santa-skiing" width="600" height="417">
<h4 class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</h4>
<h4 class="MsoNormal">5. Make the Most of Downtime:</h4>
For many professionals, the holiday season brings a slower pace of work, making it an ideal time for them to explore new opportunities. By having your job ads live, you tap into this window of downtime when candidates are more likely to invest time in researching and applying for roles.
<img src="https://cdn.sourceflow.co.uk/9kf6vrhn2wsw8omh57w0k8h5n3bx" alt="christmas-family-downtime" width="600" height="400">
<h4 class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</h4>
<h4 class="MsoNormal">Why Partner with Eligo Recruitment?</h4>
At Eligo Recruitment, we understand the nuances of the job market and the importance of strategic recruitment planning. Our consultants are experienced in recruiting across a wide range of markets from Medical, Events, Sales &amp; Marketing, to Software Engineering, SAP, and Data &amp; Business Intelligence. If you're looking to kickstart your recruitment plans for 2024, our dedicated team is ready to support you in finding the best talent to drive your success.
Don't wait until the New Year&mdash;take advantage of the current opportunities by reaching out today. Let's unwrap the potential for your 2024 success together.
&nbsp;
<a title="Submit your vacancy" href="https://www.eligo.co.uk/submit-a-vacancy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Submit your vacancy here.</a>
Contact Us via <a href="mailto:hello@eligo.co.uk">hello@eligo.co.uk</a>.
Our Opening times this festive period:&nbsp;
Eligo offices will be closed from&nbsp;Friday 22nd December 2023&nbsp;and will reopen on&nbsp;Tuesday 2nd January 2024.&nbsp; For our Medical team, calls will be diverted, so get in touch as normal for locum GP &amp; Locum Nurse enquiries.
<img src="https://cdn.sourceflow.co.uk/nefag2xosa61m62bt31etepvq4t3" alt="merry christmas from eligo" width="600" height="424">
Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a prosperous New Year filled with successful hires!

Strategic Hiring for 2024: The Magic of Posting Job Ads Before Christmas Break

In the competitive world of commercial conference organising, success often hinges on the seamless execution of events. 
While securing high-profile speakers and attracting attendees is crucial, it's the dedicated event operations staff behind the scenes who ensure that conferences run smoothly. 
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">In my 22 years of experience recruiting for the events industry, particularly for B2B Commercial Conference Organisers and Exhibition Organisers, I have seen a shift in the rewards and benefits they are offering their employees.&nbsp; Considering the current state of the market and the impetus on well-being and talent management, a considerable number of organisers are now offering bonuses within their packages for Event operations staff such as Event Coordinators and Event Manager roles.
In this blog, we'll explore the importance of providing bonuses to event operations staff and why it's a strategic move that can benefit both employees and the conference organisers.
&nbsp;
<h3 class="MsoNormal">The Unsung Heroes of Conferences: Event Operations Staff</h3>
Conference organisers understand that their event operations staff are the backbone of their success. These individuals work tirelessly to manage logistics, oversee technical aspects, and troubleshoot issues on the spot. Their efforts ensure that everything runs according to plan, leaving conference attendees with a positive impression. So aside from standard salary, how can you ensure that these tireless and hardworking event professionals are recognised for their work? 
&nbsp;
<h3 class="MsoNormal">How can you motivate Event staff through bonuses?</h3>
One powerful way to recognise and motivate hard-working Event Operations staff is through bonuses. Bonuses can take various forms, such as financial incentives, gift cards, or extra paid time off. The key is to offer rewards that are meaningful to employees, monetary bonuses in particular demonstrate appreciation for their exceptional efforts and normally these range from &pound;2k to &pound;4k. 
&nbsp;
<h3 class="MsoNormal">How can you boost Event employee satisfaction?</h3>
When event operations staff feel valued and appreciated, their job satisfaction increases. This leads to higher morale, improved job performance, and a more positive work environment. Satisfied employees are more likely to stay with the company long-term, reducing turnover rates and the costs associated with hiring and training new staff.
&nbsp;
<h3 class="MsoNormal">How can you enhancing conference success?</h3>
The benefits of giving bonuses to event operations staff extend to the conferences themselves. Employees who feel rewarded and motivated are more likely to go above and beyond in their roles. As a result, conferences run more smoothly, issues are addressed promptly, and the overall attendee experience improves. This often translates to positive feedback, repeat attendees, and increased event success. Who wouldn&rsquo;t want that?
&nbsp;
<h3 class="MsoNormal">How can you foster team collaboration in your events team?</h3>
Bonuses can also foster collaboration among different departments within a conference organisation. When employees see their colleagues recognised and rewarded, it encourages teamwork and synergy. Enhanced collaboration leads to more efficient operations and, ultimately, a better overall conference experience for everyone involved.
&nbsp;
<h3 class="MsoNormal">The Bottom Line: Why Do Bonuses Matter?</h3>
In the world of commercial conference organising, the bottom line is of utmost importance. Bonuses for event operations staff may initially seem like an extra expense, but the return on investment (ROI) is significant. Higher employee retention, improved event outcomes, and enhanced attendee satisfaction all contribute to the profitability and long-term success of the conference.
Commercial conference organisers have much to gain by recognising and rewarding their event operations staff with bonuses. In addition to motivating and retaining employees, bonuses contribute to the overall success of conferences. By making these strategic investments in their most valuable assets&mdash;their dedicated staff&mdash;conference organisers can elevate their events to new heights.
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Segoe UI Emoji'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Recognising the pivotal role of event operations staff and investing in their motivation is a win-win situation. Conferences benefit from improved efficiency and attendee satisfaction, and employees gain the recognition and motivation needed to continue delivering top-notch performance. In the competitive landscape of commercial conference organising, bonuses for event operations staff can be a game-changer.
&nbsp;
If you&rsquo;re looking to grow your Event Operations team, or you&rsquo;re contemplating your hiring plans for 2024 get in touch with me at guy@eligo.co.uk, <a title="submit a vacancy" href="https://www.eligo.co.uk/submit-a-vacancy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">submit your vacancy here</a>, or <a title="client page" href="https://www.eligo.co.uk/clients/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">visit here</a> for more information about our events recruitment services.&nbsp;
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Segoe UI Emoji'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">If you&rsquo;re wondering how to stay competitive with your salary and bonus offering, check out our <a title="Events Salary Guide Blog" href="https://www.eligo.co.uk/insights/know-your-worth-as-a-marketing-and-event-professional-download-our-latest-salary-guide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Events Salary Guide here</a>. 
&nbsp;
Guy Wilkinson
Events Recruitment Director 
&nbsp;

Why Commercial Conference Organisers Should Offer Bonuses to Event Operations Staff

As the demand for SAP Specialists continues to grow in Italy, it is important to stay informed about the latest trends in SAP Specialist salaries. Our latest SAP Specialist Salary Guide for Italy provides valuable insights into the most recent salary data for SAP Specialists across the country.
About our Italian SAP specialist Salary Guide The salaries in this guide were collated utilising experience and knowledge of the Italian SAP technology market, alongside analysis of job vacancy postings between 2021 and 2022. It provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of the SAP Specialist job market in Italy, including average salaries for SAP Specialists by experience level, location, and industry sector.
How much are SAP Specialists in Italy Earning? Overall, the SAP Specialist salary guide suggests that SAP Specialists in Italy are well-compensated for their skills and experience. The average salary for a junior SAP Specialist is around &euro;27,000 - &euro;30,000 per year, while mid-level SAP Specialists can expect to earn around &euro;30,000 - &euro;45,000 per year. Senior SAP Specialists with extensive experience can earn upwards of &euro;75,000 per year. Location plays a significant role in determining SAP Specialist salaries in Italy. Salaries tend to be higher in major cities such as Milan and Rome, where demand for SAP Specialists is especially high. However, even in smaller cities and towns, SAP Specialists can expect to earn competitive salaries. In terms of the industry sector, SAP Specialists in Italy are in high demand across a range of industries, including manufacturing, retail, and finance. Salaries are generally highest in the finance sector, where SAP Specialists earn up to &euro;75,000 per year. Overall, the SAP Specialist Salary Guide for Italy provides valuable information for anyone considering a career in SAP or looking to advance their existing SAP career. With competitive salaries and strong demand across a range of industries and locations, the SAP Specialist job market in Italy is an attractive option for those with the necessary skills and experience.
&nbsp;
Download the Eligo SAP Specialist Salary Guide <a href="https://r1.dotdigital-pages.com/p/4V9F-C69/italy-sap-salary-guide-2023">here</a>
&nbsp;

Attracting talent with a competitive salary : Italy SAP Specialist Salary Guide 2023

Case Study : Headhunting for a SAP FI-TR Consultant 

&nbsp;
Yesterday (March 15) Jeremy Hunt put forward his Spring Budget, outlining his 4 pillars for economic growth &ndash; enterprise, employment, education and everywhere - with a strong emphasis on getting Britain &ldquo;back into work&rdquo;. 
We&rsquo;ve narrowed down 6 key aspects of the Spring Budget that employers need to know&hellip;
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
<h4>Rise in Corporation Tax to incentivise investment</h4>
The rise of Corporation tax from 19% to 25% will go ahead but Hunt insists that just 10 percent of UK biz will pay the 25% rate. His reasoning came from comparing our capital investment and productivity to be lower than countries like France &amp; Germany and that &ldquo;our corporation tax did not incentivise investment as effectively as countries with higher headline rates.&rdquo;
Alongside this Hunt revealed a new &ldquo;full expensing&rdquo; scheme where support and investment will also be provided in the form of 100 % first year capital allowances, allowing businesses to deduct the full cost of IT equipment and machinery from pre-tax profits.
 
<h4>Reduced childcare costs to support working parents</h4>
With the aim to get parents back in to work hunt declared that &ldquo;if we really want to remove the barriers to work we need to go further&rdquo; offering 30 hours of free childcare for every child over the age nine months with working parents.&nbsp; This would be available by September 2025, and introduced in 2 phases:
April 2024 &ndash; 15 hours free childcare for working parents of 2-year-olds September 2024 &ndash; 15 hours free childcare for working parents of children aged 9 months to 3 years.
Funding will also go towards schools and local authorities to increase wraparound care with the aim to remove the hurdles caused by current limited availability for parents of school-age children.
&nbsp;
<h4>Lower pension tax to keep highly skilled in work</h4>
The chancellor announced an increase in pensions tax-free annual allowance from &pound;40,000 - &pound;60,000 to incentivise skilled workers to stay in work, stating that &ldquo;no one should be pushed out of the workforce for tax reasons.&rdquo;
This extends to also abolishing the lifetime allowance altogether, this is huge for workers like Doctors, as this means they will no longer be forced to retire early because of pension tax, helping to retain senior doctors in the NHS to not only provide care but help mentor junior colleagues &ndash; <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj.p625#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20scrapping%20of%20the%20lifetime,and%20mentoring%20their%20junior%20colleagues.">Doctors welcome the government&rsquo;s decision.</a>
&nbsp;
<h4>'Returnerships' for over 50s</h4>
A new type of apprenticeship is set to be launched to attract &ldquo;older workers&rdquo; over 50, back in to the labour market: Returnerships.
 These Returnerships aim to refine existing skills programmes to make them accessible for older workers over 50, with a focus on giving people the support they need to find a recognisable path back into work. 
<h4>More support for occupational health</h4>
Hunt&rsquo;s employment plans also recognise those forced to leave work because of a condition such as back pain or mental health issue, hunt believes that &ldquo;we should give them support before they end up leaving their job.&rdquo; This &pound;406m plan to tackle health issues keeping people out of work will focus on mental health, musculoskeletal conditions and cardiovascular disease and will involve two new consultations on how to improve &ldquo;instant availability&rdquo; for the support &ndash; stating that employers will have a key role to play in this, with double funding offered for SMEs.
&nbsp;
<h4>Universal Support scheme to help disabled into work</h4>
The chancellor's plans offer further support for getting into work in particular for those with disabilities and or long-term sickness, claiming that &ldquo;With Zoom, Teams and new working models that make it easier to work from home, this is possible now more than ever&rdquo;. A voluntary employment scheme for disabled people and those with health conditions will be funded in England &amp; Wales. This &lsquo;Universal Support will offer up to &pound;4,000 per person and will invest support 50,000 per year.&nbsp; These plans also include abolishing the work capability assessment to support claimants back into work without fear of losing their financial support.  
&nbsp;
These key points, alongside hunt&rsquo;s draft of reforms aimed at helping the economically inactive and those out of the labour market back into work will hopefully address recruitment and retention issues many employers have been facing. For how the Spring Budget 2023 affects the technology sector, read more <a href="https://www.eligo.co.uk/insights/2023-spring-budget-impact-on-the-technology-sector/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.

Key aspects of Spring Budget 2023 employees need to know

International Women's Day is a day of celebration and recognition of the achievements and struggles of women throughout history. It is a day to honour the women who have struggled for gender equality and the progress that has been made, and also to acknowledge the work that still needs to be done.&nbsp;
But equal opportunities aren&rsquo;t enough, and at times can even be exclusionary, rather than inclusive.
The key theme of International Women's Day 2023 is the concept of embracing equity over equality. While these two terms are often used interchangeably, they can have distinct meanings and implications, especially in the workplace.
Equality refers to treating everyone the same, regardless of their differences. It assumes that everyone has the same needs and that treating everyone the same will lead to fairness. 
Yet, this approach can overlook systemic barriers and disadvantages that some groups may face, such as women and people of colour. 
Gender is intersectional and women as a group are diverse. So for example, if a company offers a standardized training program, but it does not consider the unique needs and experiences of women or people of colour, it may perpetuate existing inequalities rather than address them.
Equity recognizes that everyone has different needs and experiences&nbsp;and that addressing those differences is necessary to achieve fairness. It considers systemic barriers and seeks to level the playing field by providing resources and support to those who need it most. 
For example, if a company offers a mentoring program specifically for women or people of colour, it acknowledges the unique challenges these groups may face and provides targeted support to help them succeed.
In the workplace, the concept of equity vs. equality has significant implications for promoting gender diversity and inclusion. While companies may strive to treat all employees equally, this approach may overlook the barriers that women face, such as unconscious bias and the lack of female role models in leadership positions. 
By adopting an equity-based approach, companies can take active steps to address these barriers and provide targeted support to help women succeed.
&nbsp;
<h4>Steps you can follow to embrace Equity over Equality in the workplace</h4>
&nbsp;
Educate yourself and your team Take the time to educate yourself and your team on the importance of equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace. This includes attending and providing training workshops, seminars, or webinars on topics such as unconscious bias, microaggressions, and cultural competence. Diversity training can help employees understand how cultural differences can impact how people work and interact at work. Its important to communicate why training is being offered and what you want to achieve from it. This helps to keep employees motivated and understand how learnings will tie back to your company goals.
&nbsp;
Communicate importance of managing bias It&rsquo;s valuable to remember that no one is an expert and we&rsquo;re all on an ongoing journey when it comes to respecting and embracing other people&rsquo;s experiences and realities. Leaders and employees can better manage bias and foster a more inclusive workplace through cultural humility. No one is perfect.
Did you know?: Unconscious biases do not necessarily align with our conscious beliefs or declared beliefs, which means unconscious biases are even more important to pay attention to. <a href="https://libraryguides.saic.edu/learn_unlearn/foundations6">https://libraryguides.saic.edu/learn_unlearn/foundations6</a> 
&nbsp;
Review your hiring and promotion practices Is your current hiring process and promotion of your jobs &amp; company fair and inclusive? If you&rsquo;re not certain on this, now is a good time to review. You can also consider implementing blind hiring practices or ensuring that your job descriptions use inclusive language. More on designing equitable and inclusive hiring practices <a href="https://www.lever.co/blog/designing-equitable-and-inclusive-hiring-practices/">here</a><a href="https://www.lever.co/blog/designing-equitable-and-inclusive-hiring-practices/">.&nbsp;</a>
&nbsp;
Assess your company policies As well as a review of your hiring practices, assess your company policies and the way issues are handled within the business. Leaders need to determine whether policies enable or perpetuate discrimination in the workplace and remodel them to reflect and uphold a more equitable workplace. 
&nbsp;
Address Pay equity Conduct a pay equity audit to ensure that all employees are paid fairly for their work, regardless of gender, race, or other factors. Regularly review compensation practices and adjust as necessary to ensure that everyone is being paid fairly. This also requires being transparent on pay with your current employees and when hiring and attracting new employees to your business. More tips <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/4-ways-incorporate-pay-equity-your-organization-robert-sheen/?trk=articles_directory">here.</a>
&nbsp;
Encourage &amp; listen to feedback through employee resource groups Encourage employees to provide feedback on their experiences in the workplace and listen to their concerns. Use this feedback to inform your equity strategies and make necessary changes to create a more inclusive work environment. This can be done through setting up an employee resource group, that can help foster a culture of connection and belonging. <a href="https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/relations/diversity/employee-resource-group-black-ethnic-minorities#gref">How to set up an ERG via CIPD</a><a href="https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/relations/diversity/employee-resource-group-black-ethnic-minorities#gref"> here.</a>&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Provide mentorship and sponsorship programs Providing targeted support to underrepresented groups such as mentorship programs and leadership development programs can help to enable relationships with leaders and role models, and lead to exposure to new opportunities. Facilitating a good coaching and mentoring culture in your organisation can go hand in hand with your equity, diversity, and inclusion practices. <a href="https://www.togetherplatform.com/coaching-and-mentoring-report">More on why coaching &amp; mentoring can benefit you business</a>.
&nbsp;
Track progress over time The effort you put in now doesn&rsquo;t mean your equity and inclusion efforts will bring overnight success. A shift in culture will take time, so by setting benchmarks and tracking your progress accordingly you can see the impact your efforts are making over time. It can also give you a clear perspective on what&rsquo;s working, and not working, and what needs improvement going forward to a more equitable workplace.&nbsp;  
Adopting and embracing an equity-based approach in the workplace can help companies overcome systemic barriers and provide targeted support to help women succeed. By recognizing the unique needs and experiences of women and other marginalized groups, companies can create a more diverse and inclusive workplace for everyone. It&rsquo;s a win-win for all, as by having a diverse group of employees not only brings a variety of unique experiences to your business but also outlooks that help them thrive at work and contribute to your company&rsquo;s growth.
&nbsp;
Sources:
International Womens Day: <a href="https://www.internationalwomensday.com/EquityEquality">https://www.internationalwomensday.com/EquityEquality</a>&nbsp;
Ceridian:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ceridian.com/uk/blog/support-diversity-and-inclusion-in-the-workplace#1beawarebias">https://www.ceridian.com/uk/blog/support-diversity-and-inclusion-in-the-workplace#1beawarebias</a>&nbsp;
Lever: <a href="https://www.lever.co/blog/designing-equitable-and-inclusive-hiring-practices/">https://www.lever.co/blog/designing-equitable-and-inclusive-hiring-practices/</a>&nbsp;

IWD 2023: Embracing Equity over Equality in the workplace.

It&rsquo;s not just the ferocious competition between hiring companies that makes securing talent so tough right now, with longer notice periods and competing against aggressive counteroffers becoming the new norm.
We&rsquo;ve got a best practice you can follow to help you effectively manage &lsquo;The Long Goodbye&rsquo;.
Our clients, like so many companies, are fighting to attract and secure talent, making us all aware more than ever that our people are one of our greatest assets. Investing time, energy, and tactics into getting the full recruitment process right is critical to ensuring success in securing the talent you need.
Stats show that 89% of people who accept a counteroffer are highly likely to still leave within 6 months, but aggressive counteroffers are still the most prolific retention strategy in the market now.
It makes sense for a current employer to offer the world to a potential leaver, even if they only stay 6 more months because it buys them time and delays the immediate pain and costs of losing them.
As career consultancy partners we are very used to directing our advice and guidance to candidates on counter offers, making sure they understand the motivations behind them. We ask them to consider how they might react and the potential implications and later ramifications on their career. But equally as important is for hiring companies to plan and prepare for the counteroffer well before an offer is even made.
&nbsp;
At Eligo we work hard with our clients to build a strategic recruitment plan to establish the optimal hiring process at every step of the way. We ensure our clients have the competitive edge to secure the best talent in the market, even in the face of competing against attractive counter offers.
So, what are some of the things you can do to help you secure the talent you want and need?
&nbsp;
<h4>Best Practice on managing the long goodbye</h4>
It starts long before you make an offer of employment&hellip;
Understanding Candidate Motivations
The first person in the recruitment process whether that be the manager, or internal or external recruiter, needs to understand the real motivation for why the candidate wants to leave their current role. This will ensure you are able to match the relevant aspects of your opportunity to them and identify any potential for them to accept a counteroffer.
<h4>&nbsp;</h4>
<h4>Job Specification</h4>
It needs to be good! Too often job specs are produced simply to provide a list of responsibilities and desired skills, but this is not what is going to excite the candidate and feel like they want to work with you. You need to sell the opportunity from the start and include details on the main areas of interest of the candidate;
A clear salary bracket, training &amp; personal development available, if flexible/remote working is available, the company culture, the stability &amp; growth of the company, benefits, and perks.
The key is to include a tangible reason why someone should want to work for you, making it all about the opportunity, benefits, and impact on the candidate, not just what you want from them!
&nbsp;
<h4>Company Culture &amp; Colleagues</h4>
People are feeling less engaged remotely so through the interview process they need to know what the culture of the company is like and who they will be working with. Can they meet the team before they even accept the role? This will give them insight into who they will be working with and if they will be a good fit. Think about your own employer branding, what are they going to see, read and feel from your website, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, office vibe, and even the welcome from your receptionist. Read more on how to showcase your employer branding here.
&nbsp;
<h4>Interview</h4>
The days of grilling multiple candidates and simply choosing your favourite are gone. Yes, you need to assess their ability and fit for the role but building rapport is also key. We recommend you plan how and when in the interview you are going to explain and sell the opportunity. It is advisable to choose the right person for this, not everyone&rsquo;s passion is easily communicated and able to inspire and captivate others. You want to share examples of recent success, or employees who have progressed from this position, growth plans in the team, your values, how you reward and appreciate staff, etc.
&nbsp;
At Eligo we have even introduced personalised presentations for candidates who reach 2nd interview stage, so we can run them through where they will fit in the business, how they can/will progress, what rewards and benefits they will receive, etc. We have found this process is really appreciated and has increased our offer acceptance rates, particularly when competing against other strong offers.
&nbsp;
<h4>Steps for a successful offer process to compete with aggressive counteroffers</h4>
&nbsp;
<h4>Go big or go home</h4>
Be prepared to make an impressive offer that says &ldquo;we want you and we know your worth&rdquo;, companies often want to secure people at the &lsquo;best&rsquo; price possible but this can end up in a bidding war and reduce the chances of being successful.
&nbsp;
<h4>Time kills deals</h4>
Get the contract out to the candidate as soon as possible, they may have follow-up questions, so be prompt with responses too to help keep them invested.
&nbsp;
<h4>Make them part of the team immediately</h4>
Communication from the start is key. Ensure someone from the business will reach out to the candidate to welcome them, this could be the hiring manager, HR, or team leader and could be just after the contract is issued.
&nbsp;
<h4>Help them get comfortable with the unknown</h4>
Confirm start date and expectations for either remote working or being present onsite. Talk them through what the onboarding process will involve, what their first few days will look like etc.
What to keep in mind post offer to secure talent
&nbsp;
<h4>Make them feel included from the start </h4>
Include them in internal socials, invite them to the work slack channel/messaging platform or invite them to one of the internal team calls to introduce them to the team they will be working with. This will give an insight into things they will be working on, and make them feel welcomed and one of the team before starting.
<h4>&nbsp;</h4>
<h4>Stay in touch</h4>
Plan regular touch points with them throughout their notice period to keep them engaged and to check for any signs of a wobble. This could be shared between several members of the team, (colleagues, management, and HR) and could be a combination of calls, emails, messages, meetings, etc.
<h4>&nbsp;</h4>
<h4>Set them up for success</h4>
Set a date for equipment, tech &amp; welcome package to be ready for the candidate. You want to make sure they have everything they need, and to meet expectations of what tools they will be given. This should help start on a positive note and avoid any tech issues arising during onboarding.
&nbsp;
<h4>Using the long goodbye to your advantage</h4>
At Eligo we&rsquo;re committed to listening to the candidates we connect with, and this means checking in with them through each stage of the process from interview to placement offer. For the clients we work with, we expect the same commitment from their side to secure a successful placement.
Longer notice periods and aggressive counteroffers can be a hindrance to the attraction and securing of new talent for businesses, but by having the right steps in place from the job application and interview process through to the offer and post-offer stage, you are more likely to see placement success and a happy growing workforce.
Need further advice or support with competing in the competitive talent market, attracting, and securing the talent you need? <a href="https://eligo.co.uk/contact-us">Get in touch</a> with us at hello@eligo.co.uk to see how we could help.&nbsp;

Beating counteroffer competition to secure talent: A best practice for managing ‘The Long Goodbye’

How to create an authentic employer brand

If you are a business that regularly hires contractors (off-payroll workers), or a contractor supplying services to clients in both the public and private sectors through your PSC (i.e. your limited company). Then you might have heard about the upcoming changes to the IR35 regulation. These changes were supposed to take place last year, but due to the Covid19 pandemic, IR35 off-payroll changes have been moved to this April 2021.&nbsp;
IR35 is a complicated piece of legislation for many contractors and businesses, with the government even being<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/04/08/ir35_westminster_hall_debate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> criticised for its clarity over IR35</a>&nbsp;and a recent blunder of&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.contractoruk.com/news/0014421hmrc_leaks_its_own_ir35_payroll_guidance_online_publishing_error.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">leaking its IR35 off-payroll guidance</a>&nbsp;in an online publishing error.
But stick with me! In this article, we'll help you get past the panic and noise and hopefully answer your questions about the changes to IR35 and what you need to know. From when the changes come into play, who's responsible for what, how to determine status and where you can get further information and advice.
Still with me?... ok let's go.
&nbsp;
What is IR35?
First introduced back in 2000, IR35 is a law designed to increase the collection of income tax from people who work through an 'intermediary' such as an umbrella or personal services company (PSC). (i.e. a limited company).
If you are a contractor supplying services to an organisation in the public or private sector through your own limited company (PSC) you should consider the upcoming changes to IR35.
&nbsp;
Okay, so what's changing?
In a nutshell,&nbsp;the new IR35 changes will be implemented in April 2021&nbsp;for private sector contractors, transferring the responsibility of assessing whether IR35&nbsp;will be applicable to any Assignment (or booking, for contractors in the Medical sector) from contractors to medium and large organisations.
This will apply to all payments made on or after the 6th of April 2021,&nbsp;regardless of when the work was carried&nbsp;(e.g. you are a nurse you will be paid x amount on 7th&nbsp;April for work carried on 30th&nbsp;March, IR35 will be applicable to that payment)
The 'end-client' (please note this wouldn&rsquo;t be your recruitment agency) will be responsible for determining the IR35 employment status of all their off-payroll workers' assignments, whilst the fee-payer (usually a recruitment agency) will be responsible for deducting the relevant tax and National Insurance contributions (NIC) at the source.
Financial implications due to IR35 could be&nbsp;particularly significant for workers as it could reduce total net income by up to 25%, however,&nbsp;a lot of umbrella companies have introduced the &ldquo;salary sacrifice&rdquo; method that could decrease this gap by up to 20%.&nbsp;
Right, so how is contractor employment status determined?
End-clients are responsible for creating a 'Status Determination Statement' or &ldquo;SD&rdquo;/&rdquo;SDS&rdquo; for short, that states if a contractor's role is 'inside' or 'outside' IR35.
While making the determination, the Client should take a lot of details into consideration, such as but not limited to; the&nbsp;control exercised over the contractor, mutuality of obligation, right to substitution, and financial risk(s) involved to ensure the correct outcome of the SDS.
&nbsp;
So, what is my responsibility as a hiring business (end-client)?
As the hiring organisation, it is important that you provide the 'Status Determination Statement' which states whether you believe IR35 applies to the contractor's assignment to both&nbsp;the recruitment agency and the contractor, including all&nbsp;reasoning behind it.
Until this statement is provided you will be classed as the fee payer, making you IR35 liable and responsible for deducting the appropriate tax and NIC's from the contractor before paying this to HMRC.
&nbsp;
 As an end client, how can I determine if IR35 applies to my organisation?
You would need to prepare for the changes if you are:
<ul>
<li>A medium or large-sized non-public sector organisation which engages contractors (off-payroll workers) who work through their own intermediary (i.e. limited company)</li>
<li class="ql-indent-1">If your organisation is a&nbsp;private&nbsp;entity, consider if the "small company exemption" applies to you.</li>
</ul>
Under section 382 of Companies Act 2006, a company qualifies as &ldquo;small&rdquo; if it is part of the private sector, and if two of the following three conditions are met for&nbsp;two consecutive financial years:
<ul>
<li>Annual turnover &ndash; not more than &pound;10.2 million</li>
<li>Balance sheet total &ndash; not more than &pound;5.1 million</li>
<li>Number of employees &ndash; not more than 50 employees</li>
</ul>
Where the small company exemption applies, the responsibility and liability for IR35 remain with the Contractor (as it is currently in the private sector), meaning it is business as usual, and no further changes will be needed.
<ul>
<li>A public authority &ndash; there are additional changes from April 2021</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
 ​These rules will not apply to small companies that meet two or more of the following conditions:
<ul>
<li>No more than 50 employees</li>
<li>Turnover no more than &pound;10.2 million</li>
<li>A balance sheet total of no more than &pound;5.1 million</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
 I'm a contractor, what should I do/expect?
<ul>
<li>The end-client must contact you in writing (it may be via email) about their decision whether your Assignment(s) after 6th&nbsp;April would fall inside or outside IR35, providing you with an SDS including all details around their decision.</li>
<li>Where your Assignment falls inside IR35 you would have to be put through an umbrella company, and for relevant Tax/NIC to be deducted at source.</li>
<li>Where your Assignment falls outside IR35 it would mean business as usual, and you could still be paid via your PSC (limited company).</li>
<li>It may be the case that you are engaged on Assignments that are inside IR35 and others that are outside IR35. That is not something to worry about, as each SDS&rsquo;s outcome is dependent on a lot of different factors that may be different for each end-Client.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
What happens if the contractor or fee-payer disagrees with an IR35 decision?
If any party, the contractor or fee-payer opposes the IR35 decision, the client has 45 days to respond and must provide reasoning for the decision made. If the end client fails to do this, the IR35 liability will transfer to them and they will then become the fee-payer.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
How do companies prepare for the IR35 reform?
<ol>
<li>Start by taking a look at your current workforce and identify individuals who are supplying their services through personal service companies, what are their roles?</li>
<li>Talk to your contractors to see if the off-payroll rules apply to their role.</li>
<li>Review payroll processes and how these could be applied for workers inside IR35</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;
 ​How do contractors prepare for the IR35 reform?
If you think you may be affected, you should seek a Status Determination Statement from your hiring company.&nbsp;(this would not be the recruitment agency, but the end-Client you supply services to)
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to be relied upon beyond general education for contractors and businesses to improve their understanding of IR35 legislation. We advise seeking professional expertise when assessing contracts or dealing with HRMC enquiries.
&nbsp;
Sources to find out more about IR35
Off-payroll working &ndash; (IR35)&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.gov.uk/topic/business-tax/ir35" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.gov.uk/topic/business-tax/ir35</a>
Preparing for the off-payroll rules (IR35 Reform)&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.qdoscontractor.com/docs/default-source/resources/white-paper_-preparing-for-ir35-reform-july-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=6" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.qdoscontractor.com/docs/default-source/resources/white-paper_-preparing-for-ir35-reform-july-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=6</a>
Guidance for Contractors&nbsp;-&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.taylorhopkinson.com/ir35/#proposed-changes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.taylorhopkinson.com/ir35/#proposed-changes</a>
<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.contractorweekly.com/ir35/ir35-guide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.contractorweekly.com/ir35/ir35-guide/</a>
Prepare for changes to the off-payroll working rules -&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prepare-for-changes-to-the-off-payroll-working-rules-ir35" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prepare-for-changes-to-the-off-payroll-working-rules-ir35</a>
Factsheet for contractors-&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/857148/Contractor_factsheet.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/857148/Contractor_factsheet.pdf</a>
HMRC CEST tool -&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/check-employment-status-for-tax/disclaimer" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/check-employment-status-for-tax/disclaimer</a>
&nbsp;

IR35 off-payroll changes and how it effects contractors and businesses.

​It has been announced this week that&nbsp;GPs at 280 sites will deliver 270,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine from December 14th.
&nbsp;
Eligo Medical are ready to support&nbsp;the COVID-19 vaccine rollout by supplying Doctors, Nurses, HCAs, and Paramedics to practices that need clinicians urgently.&nbsp;
We understand that each site will be expected to deliver 975 doses of vaccine across a 3.5-day period - suggesting that in total, the 280 sites will administer 273,000 doses of vaccine next week.
&nbsp;
The flip side, of course, is meeting the demand and added pressures as these Vaccine roll-outs begin to take place across December and early 2021. With GP services being told to prepare the roll-out of 2 doses per patient, combining these delivery volumes with your already essential services is likely to increase the pressures on your practice and staff.
&nbsp;
<h5>Eligo Medical is here to help and support your practice.</h5>
As the current pressures continue to increase, we can ensure that we are able to support you on the scale you need without the added stresses.&nbsp;
At Eligo we supply clinical locum cover nationally, supplying both in-hours and out-of-hours staff in clinical and non-clinical roles. Partnering with practices like yours nationwide, we've built a strong reputation on trust, successful fast delivery, and a high standard of service.
&nbsp;
<h5>You can read a bit more about us along with testimonials in our services brochure&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125); background-color: transparent;" href="https://i.emlfiles4.com/cmpdoc/9/3/1/7/2/2/files/6074_eligo-medical-recruitment.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here.</a></h5>
<img src="https://oliver-dev.s3.amazonaws.com/thumbs/500x500/61a56562-aa95-423f-9b93-96a77a46d4d3.gif">
&nbsp;
<h5>What can you expect working with Eligo Medical?</h5>
<ul>
<li>Expect us to fully understand your requirements on a technical and personal level and to really get to grips with your key requirements.</li>
<li>Expect us to respond quickly to your requirements.</li>
<li>Expect high standards with full vetting and compliance processes performed on every contractor.</li>
<li>Expect us to also make ourselves available outside of working hours for any important updates.</li>
<li>Expect us to consistently go the extra mile to ensure a satisfactory conclusion and keep in regular contact throughout the process.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
We understand the pressures and needs for all medical services at the moment, so please be assured that Eligo is here to help, both in terms of advice, support, and staffing, as well as with assistance on budgets etc.<a href="https://eligo.co.uk/contact-us"> Speak to one of the team </a>and we'll see what we can do to help you.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
<h5>medicalteam@eligo.co.uk</h5>
<h5>+44 (0) 208 944 4180</h5>

Eligo Medical supports the COVID-19 Vaccine rollout : can we help your GP practice?

<h4>Virtual recruitment: how to create a successful virtual hiring process</h4>
<h4>&nbsp;</h4>
How has COVID changed the way you hire? Are you finding your old processes just are not cutting it anymore? Maybe you&rsquo;ve attempted using video, but it doesn&rsquo;t quite align with your current recruitment process.
All businesses have been forced to adapt to the changing circumstances we have been faced, due to the coronavirus pandemic. With a still uncertain future ahead of us,&nbsp;now is the time to invest in video technology for a successful&nbsp;virtual hiring process.
&nbsp;
<h5>What is Virtual Hiring?</h5>
Virtual hiring requires you to search and assess potential candidates remotely, without meeting the candidates face to face. Virtual hiring requires you to rely on video technology and online assessments to evaluate the applications remotely.
&nbsp;
<img src="https://oliver-dev.s3.amazonaws.com/thumbs/500x500/fe149890-796d-4e02-b044-b01aa8fcb9e0.jpeg" alt="virtual hiring">
&nbsp;
What are the advantages of virtual hiring and utilising video in your recruitment process?
<ul>
<li>It ensures the progression of your recruitment activity&nbsp;and allows you to adapt to unforeseen circumstances. COVID has heightened the need for remote hiring tactics, and with video and virtual hiring, you can continue to add to your remote team without delay.</li>
<li>Virtual hiring allows you to streamline your whole recruitment process and&nbsp;screen more candidates in a shorter amount of time. As we know,&nbsp;time is money&nbsp;and a strong and stable&hellip; (I couldn&rsquo;t help myself) virtual hiring process will benefit everyone in the business.</li>
<li>Reduces recruitment bias.&nbsp;With a consistent hiring process in place and with more time due to an efficient process in place, allows an equal footing for every applicant thus reducing common hiring prejudices. Candidates who would have otherwise slipped through the net will now catch your attention. Hiring virtually can also beneficial if you are hiring talent from abroad.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Technology is key.&nbsp;We know that technology within businesses has become key to remote working, communication, and your hiring process.
So how should you be utilising it for your virtual hiring process?
&nbsp;
<h5>Interactive job specs</h5>
Your&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125); background-color: transparent;" href="https://www.eligo.co.uk/client-advice-insights/beyond-the-logo-your-employer-brand-and-why-you-re-not-attracting-the-best-developers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">employer brand</a> is an important part of the virtual hiring process and an interactive job specification is a great way to showcase your brand, company mission and the benefits you are offering. These would typically include images and videos of your office, links to your social media, website, and good press. You should also incorporate a video of the hiring manager or team leader talking about the role.
By including an interactive job spec in your virtual hiring strategy, candidates are more likely to be engaged and less likely to accept offers from other competitors.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
<h5>Video profiles</h5>
The CV is evolving, and there is more to applications than a standard word doc.
Imagine easily watching candidates discuss their experience, in their own words, while you simultaneously scroll through their CV? Or having the candidate answer pre-set questions to get the answers you need quickly.
Adding video profile applications into your virtual hiring strategy not only removes location barriers, it can also help to speed up your entire process and enable you to compile a shortlist of candidates in a few simple clicks.
&nbsp;
<h5>&nbsp;</h5>
<h5>Candidate Assessments</h5>
We know a key part of your hiring process will be to assess the candidate, to make sure you understand them as individuals to make sure they are right for the role and your company.
As part of your virtual hiring strategy, you can easily send intelligence, emotional and workplace behavioural assessments for your candidate to complete.
This way you can effectively gain insight, virtually, of their learning and leadership style, understand any motivators or pressure points and ensure their personality is a good fit.
&nbsp;
Combining these above elements into your virtual hiring strategy will not only appeal to the candidate but will also save your recruitment costs and time.
&nbsp;

Virtual recruitment: how to create a successful virtual hiring process

Virtual onboarding&nbsp;is becoming a regular practice due to the ongoing uncertainty and having to adapt to the coronavirus pandemic. These changing circumstances have forced us to look at how and where we work.
Onboarding remotely isn&rsquo;t dissimilar to the old practices of your recruitment process but it now requires you to move your entire process virtually. These original practices of onboarding can easily be repurposed to give your new employee the best possible start, from integrating with the team to productive working.
We've got some advice and top tips for making virtual onboarding a successful experience for your new remote employees.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
<a style="color: rgb(216, 2, 115);" href="https://r1.dotdigital-pages.com/p/4V9F-C38/virtual-onboarding-guide" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Download your free guide below</a>
 
 
Transforming old processes for virtual onboarding
A successful remote onboarding process for your new employee won&rsquo;t be too far from that &lsquo;first day in the office&rsquo; experience we all know. The key is to take your top practices and convert them virtually, to make sure your new hires get the most out of it.
 
 
&nbsp;

Tips for successful virtual onboarding

What is mental health?
&nbsp;
<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The World Health Organisation's&nbsp;definition</a>&nbsp;of mental health is &ldquo;where each individual realises their own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to their community&rdquo;
If you want to fully support the mental health of your recently furloughed employees and your employees who have been working from home, there are some steps you can take to make sure you are offering support for their mental health if they need it.
&nbsp;
Why is mental health important right now?
November is also National Men&rsquo;s Health Awareness month. The office of national statistics shows that the suicide rate for men in England and Wales is at its highest than it has been in over 2 decades. According to the charity&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://uk.movember.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Movember</a>, 70% of men say they can rely on their friends for help yet, only 48% actually do so.
It can be even harder to ask for support and help when working from home, so how can you support the mental health of all your employees?
&nbsp;
Steps to support your employee mental health during Covid19 pandemic.
 
Keep in regular contact with your employees
A good place to start with knowing how your employees are getting on at home or in the office is by organising regular check-ins. These work better as face to face, so can either be conducted via video or in-person outdoors or in the workplace at a safe distance. These are great opportunities to ask your employee questions around their wellbeing and will help to alert you to any signs of poor mental health. You do not need to be a mental health expert, but it helps to know about poor wellbeing and how to handle a disclosure of mental health condition.
&nbsp;
Review performance and workload
Whilst some employees are more productive working from home, others have struggled during the pandemic. The stress of isolated working, juggling childcare and work, and increased working hours have caused the lines of home and work to overlap negatively.
From your regular check-ins, you should identify these stresses and recognise that expectations of work may need to be adjusted. This includes adjusting objectives, workloads, and deadlines to make sure they are achievable and can aid productivity.
&nbsp;
Promote good wellbeing
Get your senior leadership to set an example of good wellbeing, by sharing how they are looking after their own wellbeing during this challenging time. This will help to encourage other people in your work to take care of their mental health. Inspire independent or group wellbeing activities and share well-being and mental health messages. This will start the conversation around mental health and encourage people to seek help if they need it.
&nbsp;
Connect your people
Working from home or coming back to work after furlough can seem isolating, but by connecting your employees together virtually through work-related or informal social meetings can encourage connections and social contact they may have been missing. But make sure that taking part should always be optional as you don&rsquo;t want to overwhelm your employees and cause extra anxiety, everyone is different.
 
Encourage learning
For your furloughed employees it can be hard to find purpose, but learning can boost wellbeing and create a structure for the day. Encourage work-related learning from home, ask your furloughed employees if there is anything they want to learn to progress their career. Suggest possible ideas or topics for learning but it should not be mandatory.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Some further education and sources around mental health and wellbeing.
The Mental Health Foundation
 <a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/sites/default/files/how-to-support-mental-health-at-work.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/sites/default/files/how-to-support-mental-health-at-work.pdf</a>
Managing Mental Health: Introductory module for managers, developed with Unum&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="http://www.unum.co.uk/managing-mental-health-mhf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.unum.co.uk/managing-mental-health-mhf</a>
Be Mindful Online evidence-based Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy/Stress Reduction course available to individuals and businesses&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="http://www.bemindfulonline.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.bemindfulonline.com</a>
Time To Change - #timetotalk&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/sites/default/files/rightplace-non%202018champpack.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/sites/default/files/rightplace-non%202018champpack.pdf</a>
Healthy Working Lives NHS resources for supporting health at work. www.healthyworkinglives.com
SeeMe at Work National anti-stigma programme co-delivered by the Mental Health Foundation and SAMH&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="http://www.seemescotland.org/workplace/see-me-in-work" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.seemescotland.org/workplace/see-me-in-work</a>
The Sanctus Mental Health Directory - A comprehensive guide to free and paid services to support mental health.&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://sanctus.io/directory/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://sanctus.io/directory/</a>
&nbsp;
 Direct helplines for support;
 
 Samaritans&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://lnkd.in/dJKbeq7" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://lnkd.in/dJKbeq7</a>
Call 116 123​ or Email jo@samaritans.org​ - Available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, you can call Samaritans to talk about anything that is upsetting you
 
 
Campaign Against Living Miserably -&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://lnkd.in/gC5P2u6" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://lnkd.in/gC5P2u6</a>
0800 58 58 58​ or Webchat&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://lnkd.in/dRpBR5e" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://lnkd.in/dRpBR5e</a>&nbsp;- Available between 5pm-midnight every day, CALM is leading a campaign against male suicide.
 
 
Shout UK -&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://giveusashout.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://giveusashout.org/</a>
Text the word 'SHOUT' to 85258 - Available 24/7, SHOUT is a free text-based service for anyone needing support.
Disclaimer: the guidance in this blog is provided for general information purposes and is not in any way legal or professional advice. You should consult a professional or legal advisor regarding employee mental health where appropriate.
&nbsp;

How to support employee mental health 

Let&rsquo;s cut to the chase.
A lot of companies think that engineers should be queuing at the door to join them because they are a fantastic company and they are growing, they put out adverts on job boards and on social media. These are only seen by those actively looking.
Reality is that most of the best security engineers are either secure in their current role but open to something better, or they are in transition and have multiple opportunities to consider. As such, you need to offer something different and/or better to get the best in front of you.
Here are the facts: The security engineer market is busy, there is a severe skills shortage, there is huge disconnect between employers and candidates, and everybody is trying to recruit the best.
&nbsp;
So what can you do about it?
Improve your hiring process, review your benefits package, and think like a security engineer. Yes, that simple. Your goal is to position your company as an &lsquo;employer of choice&rsquo;.
Make the candidates want you&hellip; and you&rsquo;ll have the candidates you want.
&nbsp;
How?
Take these 6 simple considerations;&nbsp;Salary,&nbsp;Additional Benefits,&nbsp;Hiring Process,&nbsp;Company Story,&nbsp;Opportunity, and further&nbsp;Unique Selling Points&nbsp;(USPs).
You will find many of the answers come from asking yourself these questions. Once you do, you&rsquo;ll be on the way to bringing on board the best security engineers.
&nbsp;
Salary
Money is not always the overriding factor. Rewarding engineers for their value to the company and role is.
<ul>
<li>Do you know what the industry average salary is for the security engineer role you&rsquo;re trying to fill?</li>
<li>Can you pay above market rate? Whilst the majority may be paid market rate, they will be looking to increase this with a move.</li>
</ul>
Request an industry-wide salary survey and work out if you&rsquo;re paying competitive rates. If you&rsquo;re not then you&rsquo;ll have to work even harder on the following selling points, or, consider investing in someone with less experience that you can train.
&nbsp;
Additional Benefits
Don&rsquo;t view engineers as a commodity. Often it is the minor details when it comes to a complete package that will strike a major chord with security engineers.
<ul>
<li>Do your engineers have to use their own tools (if so why aren&rsquo;t you aren&rsquo;t you including these)?</li>
<li>Do you offer any other equipment? Mobiles? Laptops? Multi meters?&nbsp;Tablets?</li>
<li>Is there a choice of company vehicle? Do these have air conditioning? Is there a fuel allowance or card? Can the engineer use the vehicle for private use?</li>
<li>Do you offer time off the day after a call out?</li>
<li>Do you have a Personal Development plan for your staff?</li>
<li>Will you cover the costs of training that will improve the engineer&rsquo;s ability to do their job?</li>
<li>How much do you pay for overtime, travel time and standby?</li>
<li>Is there a company health scheme? Do you offer a pension?</li>
</ul>
Consider a complete benefits package that takes into account the things that often seemingly don&rsquo;t matter. Think like a security engineer.
&nbsp;
Hiring Process
Hiring and onboarding processes are absolutely crucial to both attracting and keeping the right people. I&rsquo;ve&nbsp;<a style="color: navy;" href="https://www.eligo.co.uk/client-advice-insights/the-true-cost-of-wrong-sales-hires-is-/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">written about it extensively here</a>, but in short.
<ul>
<li>Do you have clear understanding of what&rsquo;s on offer and what you need in a person?</li>
</ul>
Senior management need to collaborate on defining what is wanted from the right candidate in order to ensure a coherent message to candidates and that time is not wasted.
<ul>
<li>Do you judge a candidate based purely upon their CV?</li>
</ul>
Too many companies are making hiring decisions based upon gut feeling without considering attitudes and behaviours too&hellip; or even taking references.
<ul>
<li>How are you attracting candidates and how does the process follow through after?</li>
</ul>
Consider using a copywriter to craft your job ads, and sell yourselves better.&nbsp;Then once you have the candidates ensure a process that reflects your company throughout. Less of the 5 stage interviews, more of the succinct and simple application. It&rsquo;ll be better for you too and you&rsquo;ll lose less people to the competition.
<ul>
<li>Do you know that hiring is a two-way process?</li>
</ul>
That&rsquo;s right &ndash; don&rsquo;t forget to sell the company and opportunity to the candidate at each stage of the interview, give them examples and help them to understand why it would be a better place for them to work.
&nbsp;
Opportunity
Linkedin recently did a study on what drives employees to change their job. The top answer wasn&rsquo;t salary. It wasn&rsquo;t even that they hated their boss. It was that they didn&rsquo;t believe there were sufficient opportunities to grow.
<ul>
<li>Are you offering exciting opportunities within your company?</li>
<li>Is there a clear structure, or even opportunity, for progression?</li>
<li>Are you clear about what the role will entail and what the future has in store?</li>
<li>Are you utilising new technologies within your business that this person will be exposed to?</li>
</ul>
As always, honesty is the best policy. If you can&rsquo;t honestly say there will be chances for growth, or that you&rsquo;re a company with great opportunities, then the best security engineers probably won&rsquo;t be coming your way any time soon. However, if you can, and provide examples with this, you&rsquo;ll be an attractive employer.
&nbsp;
Company Story
Why should people join your company? The best security engineers have loyalty to their company, and company story and culture is a huge part of this. Of course, the above 4 factors tie into this, but it goes further.
<ul>
<li>What&rsquo;s your history and how have you grown to working with who you do?</li>
<li>Do you tell staff progression stories? Have testimonials readily available?</li>
<li>Is there a social atmosphere? Are there company get-togethers, trips, or incentives?</li>
<li>Do you invest in training and the development of your staff?</li>
</ul>
With the market as it is, and skills continuing to shorten, the real company story appeal is greater than ever.
&nbsp;
Further USPs
Sit down and talk. Talk to your managers, security engineers, to outsiders looking in, and find out;
<ul>
<li>What makes your company different?</li>
<li>Why do your employees enjoy working for you?</li>
<li>What tempts others to want to work for you rather than a competitor?</li>
<li>What made you choose our company over others that you were considering?</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Speaking to someone who knows the market extensively and can identify what makes you stand out will further help in the selling of your company to the best security engineers. Know your key selling points. Sell your key selling points. Take stock of the questions above, answer them, and resolve them if the answer doesn&rsquo;t come back as it should. Do that, and there&rsquo;s a much greater chance the best security engineers will be at your company next time you read this.
&nbsp;
At Eligo we help our clients recruit better. We can help you benchmark salary expectations with our&nbsp;industry wide&nbsp;knowledge and salary survey, identify USPs, write copy for your job ads, and improve your entire hiring process with reduced stress, time, and cost. What&rsquo;s more we know who and where the best security engineers are.
&nbsp;
<a href="https://eligo.co.uk/contact-us">Get in touch to find out more.</a>
&nbsp;

Are you attracting the best security engineers?

<h5>Do you know&nbsp;how much your company loses&nbsp;from the departure of an employee? Do you know the recruitment&nbsp;costs to hire a replacement? How about the recruitment&nbsp;cost of hiring the wrong replacement?</h5>
&nbsp;
Calculating these costs isn&rsquo;t simple; you have to look at a number of factors including reduced productivity, angry customers, and lost investment. Of course, these aren&rsquo;t specifically monetary values either. Regardless, these headaches can eventually prove costly both in time and expense.
This is especially true in the hiring of the wrong candidate in the market I specialise in &ndash; Fire &amp; Security Recruitment &ndash; where there is currently a large skills shortage. Wrong decisions can prove extremely costly, therefore it is important that when you make a decision to hire a candidate,&nbsp;you do it right, and you get it right.
&nbsp;
<h4 class="ql-align-center">Common hiring errors</h4>
All too often we see and hear about the same hiring mistakes being made over and over again, only further adding to your recruitment costs. These are the most common;
<h5>Too many cooks&hellip; don&rsquo;t know what they want</h5>
You may not have spoiled the metaphorical broth when deciding upon your perfect candidate, but without&nbsp;open collaboration&nbsp;between senior management, too often there is a convoluted opinion on what the need is, what the role will entail, and who the ideal candidate is. This often doesn&rsquo;t come to light until the interview process is in full flow and a significant amount of time has been invested with little progress made.
<h5>All that is gold does not necessarily glitter</h5>
Too many companies simply judge a candidate by their cover (letter), CV, or those with the best interview skills. These hiring decisions are often based on&nbsp;gut feeling&nbsp;without considering other factors such as&nbsp;attitudes and behaviours despite there being a mainstay in consideration when employees are underperforming or dismissed.
<h5>A lack of process hinders progress</h5>
Have you&nbsp;considered your brand&nbsp;and how the application and interview process reflects this throughout? A poor application and interview process can reflect badly on the company, turning great candidates against it, whilst it can also amount to a significant amount of time wasted if it does not reap the candidate you are looking for.
Find out more about how to interview well and recruit better:&nbsp;<a style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="https://www.eligo.co.uk/client-advice-insights/interview-well-recruit-better-how-to-interview-successfully/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">read our interview tips here</a><a style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://eligo.co.uk/how-to-interview/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">.</a>
&nbsp;
<h4 class="ql-align-center">A &pound;30,000 mistake</h4>
Back to the recruitment costs. You&rsquo;ve already invested a considerable amount of time into the interview process, and are likely to invest many more funds and time into developing the employee for the business.&nbsp;This is obviously a worthy&nbsp;investment if the candidate goes on to be a valued member of the team and contributes to the future growth and success of the business.
&nbsp;
<h5>But you got it wrong?</h5>
There are hundreds of advice pieces on how to&nbsp;improve employee retention&nbsp;and whilst these suggestions such as introducing incentives and benefits, changing management styles, and overhauling company culture may certainly improve the appeal of the company, these advice pieces fail to take into account one key reason why employees may&nbsp;leave in the first place:&nbsp;you made the wrong hire!
You&rsquo;re now faced with spiralling recruitment costs including severance packages, a potentially wasted investment, and the added recruitment cost of a replacement! A&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: transparent;" href="http://www.hrreview.co.uk/hr-news/recruitment/it-costs-over-30k-to-replace-a-staff-member/50677" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">report by HR Review</a>&nbsp;has estimated that in the recruitment of a replacement, you&rsquo;ll be left with another &pound;30,000 cost.
&nbsp;
<h5>Cut these recruitment costs and hire right from the start</h5>
Have a re-read of the common recruitment mistakes I listed above, they&rsquo;re mistakes when you do them wrong, but&nbsp;do them right and you&rsquo;re on to a winning hire.
Here&rsquo;s how to do them right, ensure you&nbsp;cut your recruitment costs,&nbsp;retain excellent staff, and ultimately continue to&nbsp;make the correct hire&nbsp;each and every time. 
<h5>Cast a Wide Net</h5>
This is particularly important, and why dealing with an excellent and connected recruiter can be a thrifty investment. Often the best candidates can&rsquo;t just be found through a job board or search, they may even already be employed. It&rsquo;s important to&nbsp;know who is the best in the industry, who might be thinking about moving positions, and how you are going to get them. 
<h5>Ensure a Clear Understanding of What&rsquo;s on Offer</h5>
Senior management collaboration in defining what is on offer and what is wanted from the candidate is vital to hiring the right candidate! Ensure that all stakeholders are on the same track with regard to this. Once you have defined&nbsp;what key traits you are looking for in your next employee, finding them from a pool of candidates will prove a whole lot easier.
&nbsp;
<h5>Behavioural Testing</h5>
At Eligo, we call this&nbsp;intelligent selection. Behavioural testing has seen a massive upsurge across the business landscape moving further into the 21st&nbsp;century. This scientific approach can reap a whole host of benefits that enable you to counter the hiring mistakes above.
Candidates undergo&nbsp;psychometric behavioural tests&nbsp;to establish their&nbsp;key attributes,&nbsp;strengths, and&nbsp;weaknesses&nbsp;and&nbsp;what roles they will be suited too. As an employer, you are then able to match these to your pre-defined requirements for the role to ensure you find an employee that not only has these skills to succeed in the role but will further enjoy, develop, and thrive&nbsp;in it.
Utilising behavioural testing will&nbsp;save both time and recruitment costs, reducing the time needed to complete the entire interview process, time and money on training candidates, and ultimately time and money on&nbsp;reducing employee turnover&nbsp;as candidates are proven to&nbsp;stay in their jobs longer&nbsp;when matched with the perfect position.
&nbsp;
<h5>Employee Pre-Screening</h5>
Pre-screening is essential in saving considerable time throughout the application process. Combined with the above behavioural testing and key competency questionnaires, having applicants submit a video of themselves answering pre-defined interview questions&nbsp;will enable your organisation to&nbsp;short-list candidates effectively&nbsp;without the need for coordinating diaries to schedule interviews.
&nbsp;
<h5>Employer Branding</h5>
Your&nbsp;company brand is vital&nbsp;in the application process. Remember&nbsp;interviews are a two-way process. Whilst you are seeking the perfect candidate for the job, candidates are also assessing whether this is a company they want to contribute their skills to and work for.
Combining the above elements, ensuring a&nbsp;smooth, simple, and succinct application process that is tailored towards your brand's values, image, and how it runs day-to-day will appeal to the candidate whilst protecting your brand image and again &ndash; saving recruitment costs and time!
&nbsp;

How much do you pay when you get it wrong? Hire right and cut your recruitment costs…

NOTICE OF RESIGNATION
The three words every hiring manager dreads.
If you always manage to retain every single member of staff and this is the first time you&rsquo;ve heard those three words then you should probably stop reading right now, as I can add no further value for you!
However, if you&rsquo;re with the other 99.9% of us, you will probably be wondering how you can cost-effectively recruit and retain talent.
We all know that businesses usually hire based on skills and knowledge and fire based on behaviours. Hiring managers spend hours on end defining roles, responsibilities and functions but are rarely able to consistently clearly explain what the required behaviours are, both within the role and the company.
Even if you manage to side-step old clich&eacute;s of a &ldquo;strong team player&rdquo; or a &ldquo;self-starter&rdquo;, they might struggle to accurately assess and evaluate during the interview process.
Sound familiar? These are just a few of the&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.eligo.co.uk/client-advice-insights/the-problem-with-hiring-tactics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">problems with hiring tactics</a> adopted by organisations that can prevent you from effectively attracting, hiring, and retaining talent.
&nbsp;
What else is stopping you from effectively attracting and hiring the talent you need?
&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Not having a clear goal of what you are looking for&nbsp;&ndash; without discussing what your business is looking for with senior management, too often there are mixed views on what the need is, from what the role will entail to who the ideal candidate is. This often occurs during the interview process is in full flow and a significant amount of time has already been invested, with little or no progress made.</li>
<li>Judging a book by its cover &ndash; too many companies judge a candidate by their cover letter, CV, or those that portray the best interview skills. These hiring decisions are based on gut feeling without giving attitudes and behaviours the time of day, despite these being some of the main reasons for employee dismissal and underperformance.</li>
<li>Lack of process deters progress&nbsp;&ndash; Hiring is a two-way process, which means a poor application and interview process can reflect poorly on the business and can put off candidates. If you don&rsquo;t consider your employer brand and how it reflects throughout, it can lead to a significant amount of time wasted if it does not reap the candidate you are looking for.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Consider including these factors in your recruitment strategy to effectively attract and hire talent that's right for you.
&nbsp;
Expand your search (and resources)
Casting your net wide in your search for talent is particularly important and why dealing with a connected recruiter can be a good investment. It is often the case that the best candidates can&rsquo;t just be found on job boards or search, they may even already be currently employed. It is essential to know about candidates who are the best in the industry, who might be thinking about moving roles and how you are going to get them. Recruiters who are connected to tech communities and are attending events are more likely to have a talent pool for you to choose great talent.
&nbsp;
Have a clear understanding of what is needed
By collaborating with senior management, you can easily define the type of candidate out there and what exactly is wanted from them. This is vital to hiring the right candidate as well as ensuring all stakeholders are on the same page. Once you have defined and set out the key traits you want in your next employee, finding them will become a whole lot easier.
&nbsp;
Employee Pre-screening and behavioural testing
A pre-screening of your candidates is vital in saving time throughout the application process. Combined with behavioural testing and key competency questions to establish key attributes, strengths and weaknesses it will also enable effective candidate shortlisting. Behavioural testing can save your company both time and recruitment costs by reducing the time needed to complete the whole interview process, time and money on training candidates and on reducing employee turnover as candidates are proven to stay at their company longer when matched with their ideal position.
&nbsp;
Employer branding&nbsp;is key
Your employer brand is key in the application process and can be reflected throughout; while you are on the lookout for the ideal candidate, they are also assessing you and whether it will be the right company for them.&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.eligo.co.uk/client-advice-insights/beyond-the-logo-your-employer-brand-and-why-you-re-not-attracting-the-best-developers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Here&rsquo;s</a>&nbsp;why your brand might not be attracting the best developers.
&nbsp;
Bringing together the points mentioned above to ensure a smooth and efficient application process that is personalised to your brand image and values, will appeal to the potential candidate whilst saving recruitment time and cost! &ndash; you will also be pleased to know there is an easy way to achieve this!
Eligo can be your partner in navigating these trends, helping you attract, retain, and empower top talent. <a title="contact us " href="https://www.eligo.co.uk/contact-us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Get in touch today</a> to discuss how we can tailor our recruitment services to your specific needs.
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

How to attract and hire talent

What&rsquo;s in it for you, and you, and me? Here I explain why you should use a recruiter exclusively by looking at all parties involved in the recruitment process.
Of all the conversations I&rsquo;ve had in 10+ years of Recruitment, the one I find myself having most is the topic of exclusivity.
Some companies I speak to don&rsquo;t know what that means, others question the value of working exclusively over the way they&rsquo;ve always worked with recruiters:
&ldquo;What happens if you can&rsquo;t find the right candidate? I&rsquo;ve put all my eggs in your basket&rdquo;
&ldquo;I need to find someone fast, would more recruiters working on this not speed that up?&rdquo;
&ldquo;Can I really rely on you to deliver?&rdquo;
Ultimately, you can narrow down the reasons for using a recruiter exclusively down to two words:
accountability&nbsp;and&nbsp;partnership.
They&rsquo;re also two words that can almost always explain why your recruiter has not delivered in the past.
Before delving deeper it&rsquo;s important to clear up what exclusivity means.
&nbsp;
So what do I mean when I discuss exclusivity?
Working exclusively means selecting one recruiter to work with on your recruitment projects on an&nbsp;&lsquo;exclusive&rsquo;&nbsp;basis for an agreed period of time.
An exclusive relationship should mean that more time is spent on your roles, with greater knowledge of your company and requirements, with more accountability for filling them, resulting in a greater chance of the role being filled with the right person.
What does this relationship look like in practice?
<ul>
<li>A partnership whereby the Recruiter has time to take a full brief and challenge it, talk about what works for you, and ask what hasn&rsquo;t and why.</li>
<li>Your Recruitment partner should be able to present candidates that fit your business, not just the brief, and then tell you why.</li>
<li>You receive a brief on candidates, their story, why they&rsquo;re looking, what they&rsquo;re looking for, why they would be a good fit (or not), not just a sent CV.</li>
<li>There should be constant updates on the progress of your search, working towards an agreed plan, timescale, and measurables</li>
<li>You get feedback on the market and hires, requirements and process; most companies know what they do, a good recruiter knows what the market does. Honesty is key, let&rsquo;s set realistic expectations from the start.</li>
</ul>
End result?
You get the best person, not the first person to apply for your role.
You save time. You save money.
All parties are happy.
It doesn&rsquo;t necessarily have to be a mirror image, flexibility is a crucial part to the relationship, but these should form the core of the partnership you&rsquo;ve engaged in.
&nbsp;
So what does exclusivity allow?
The above is a good start.
Typically, I&rsquo;ve found that you are 2 &frac12; times more likely to fill a role through working exclusively with a Recruitment partner.
Why?
The two words I mentioned at the start: accountability and partnership.
To understand exactly why, it&rsquo;s important to look at why working this way is in the interest of not only yourself as a client but also a Recruitment partner and candidates. This also means telling some truths that are often skirted around.
Let&rsquo;s start with Recruiters.
&nbsp;
Why is working exclusively in the interest of a Recruiter?
When you choose a Recruitment partner you want to be working with a smart one, right? Smart Recruiters understand that time is money.
When it comes to the roles recruiters spend their time on, this means choosing the roles where they feel like their time is best going to be spent getting a return (getting paid).
Clients that work with 4 or 5 different recruiters don&rsquo;t normally have the time to give the same detailed brief to 5 different recruiters, meaning the recruiter has to work off minimal information and understanding of the company, role, ideal candidate, or even just the job description from 2011.
The chances of the recruiter filling the role have already dropped dramatically.
Now factor in the fact that they would also be up against 4 or 5 other recruiters vying for the same talent in the same market for the same job. Of this competition it&rsquo;s likely some will submit candidates before even briefing them in order to be first past the post; it&rsquo;s a rat race with corners that are encouraged to be cut.
Now factor in the chances that the role could go on hold, Dave who worked for the client 5 years ago may reapply, the remit of the role could change, recruitment freeze, or contracts could be won or lost. Again, the recruiter doesn&rsquo;t get paid.
As a recruiter in this system, you&rsquo;re effectively hedging your bets with little chance of making money and a whole lot of lost time.
How&rsquo;d you make up for this?
You have to take on 5x as many jobs in order to fill just one. You&rsquo;re having to speak to 50 candidates per role, 5 of which interview, there&rsquo;s 245 to go back to and tell them why they didn&rsquo;t get the interview, it&rsquo;s all more time wasted, and there&rsquo;s no one paying for that.
Bearing in mind all these things, do you really think a recruiter is going to work late into the evening or come in on weekends in order to reach that elusive A* candidate for you without knowing they have a better chance of getting paid? Life is short after all.
This snowball effect creates an environment in which poor practice takes first place, clients aren&rsquo;t left happy, candidates aren&rsquo;t left happy, and ultimately the recruiter hasn&rsquo;t come out too well either.
Speaking of clients&hellip;
&nbsp;
Why is working exclusively in your interest as a client?
Your frustration with recruiters ultimately lies in their ability to deliver results and save you time and money.
So when you have to spend hours on end sifting through irrelevant, often duplicated, CVs from multiple recruiters you probably realise that you&rsquo;re going to need a complex management system just to work through it all.
Which of the 4 or 5 agencies fired across Dave&rsquo;s CV first?
Where are you with which candidate with which recruiter?
Why haven&rsquo;t you heard anything from A or why do you candidates from B always leave 2 months after employment?
Frankly, you have better ways to spend your time; not wasting it is one of the reasons you engaged a recruiter in the first place.
The best candidates are often not found on job boards and they&rsquo;re not just a CV. Working exclusively means your recruiter is either going to be able to or will already have mapped the market, make approaches to hard-to-find A* candidates, and then not only present them to you but by understanding you and your business can position the opportunity in the most attractive way.
Good candidates tend to ask the most and best questions, being able to answer these mean that both parties arrive knowing what to expect, saving time and any surprises or problems further down the line.
Your worries about exclusivity are easily allayed with accountability, something you should be guaranteed to have working exclusively. There should be measures in place including break clauses, weekly update calls, and agreed on SLAs in order to guarantee this.
With that said, if your hire is that important, especially in a candidate short market, be sure to never sacrifice quality for speed.
If you want a job done, do it properly. You may invest more time initially working with your exclusive recruitment partner but by the time the interview comes that time won&rsquo;t have been wasted. This will benefit time and time again. Candidates are in front of you because they are the best for the job, not because a recruiter needed to get the CV in before another.
Imagine 90 minutes per interview, 5 candidates per job, 5 jobs per year, over 5 years. How many minutes is that?
11,250 minutes. That&rsquo;s 187 hours with some change. That&rsquo;s a month&rsquo;s work.
Can you afford to be wasting that amount of time?
Money wasted on a bad purchase can be replaced, time wasted with the wrong recruiter cannot.
&nbsp;
Why is working exclusively in the interest of the candidate?
Candidates for your roles biggest frustration is often the lack of feedback on an application. They&rsquo;re left wondering if the job was real, whether the time they put into it was worth it, and are often approached by multiple recruiters about the same position.
All in all, their lasting thought is whether your company is serious about hiring the best people.
It&rsquo;s bad for your company&rsquo;s reputation, and word of this does spread.
What&rsquo;s more, in my experience, the best people want to work with a company full of other top performers. With a bad experience, it&rsquo;s likely that company won&rsquo;t be yours.
Working exclusively with a recruiter enables the time and information needed to keep the candidate updated throughout the application process, give detailed feedback, and honest information about the role and company; there should be no surprises and a much higher chance that they won&rsquo;t inevitably leave within the first few months.
&nbsp;
An exclusive club
The reality is that if your recruitment isn&rsquo;t working, it&rsquo;s not all that hard to figure it out. Everybody wants to blame each other, nobody wants to take an honest assessment of what is going wrong, probe, and fix it.
Fixing it simply requires those two words again:&nbsp;accountability&nbsp;and&nbsp;partnership.By choosing an exclusivity with the right recruiter, this is what you&rsquo;re receiving. The results will follow.
Next time a recruiter asks you to take them on exclusively, ask them why. If they can&rsquo;t answer, they&rsquo;re not the exclusive recruitment partner for you.
Recruitment is a business just like any other, and just like any other business partner, you want to work with the one that&rsquo;s smart, that&rsquo;s successful, and that delivers.
&nbsp;
What are your thoughts?
&nbsp;
I&rsquo;d love to chat with you about working exclusively with us at Eligo or give you advice on how you can improve your recruitment activities. We offer a range of services, fully flexible to your company&rsquo;s needs and goals. Ultimately your recruitment is all about you.&nbsp;When you partner with Eligo you&rsquo;re not just receiving a Recruitment supplier; you&rsquo;re receiving a business partner as well.
Get in touch to discuss further, receive a free benchmark of your attraction, retention, and selection processes, or ask me any questions you may have. You can also find out more about <a href="https://eligo.co.uk/clients">h</a><a href="https://eligo.co.uk/clients">ow Eligo&nbsp;works&nbsp;with our clients here.</a>
&nbsp;

Why should you use a recruiter exclusively? An honest guide.

In this highly competitive start-up industry, the most important aspect of a successful business is its technical team.&nbsp;Technical teams are unique, and different strengths, personalities and backgrounds can lead to a fusion of ideas that can bring successful results, giving your business the edge over others.
In order for your technical team to be the best, you need to hire and keep the best talent, reward and share in their successes and fully invest in your team.
&nbsp;
4 ways to nurture and grow your tech team
&nbsp;
Happy Staff = High Retention
You know for a fact that happy staff are more likely to stay longer, and you know that your technical team is the most valuable asset to your business.
So, by creating an environment where everyone genuinely enjoys coming to work every day, you&rsquo;re on to a winner and everyone is happy. It&rsquo;s said that a team that is engaged and happy is less likely to take sick leave and they are also more likely to be innovative, productive and creative which all lead to a successful business.
In order to keep your technical team happy and motivated there are also a few other ways this can be achieved;
<ul>
<li>Fostering innovation&nbsp;&ndash; Stay alert and look out for moments of innovation, it&rsquo;s in a technical team&rsquo;s nature to explore new and innovative development working practices. However, your team might not see their solution as fantastic, which is why you need to reward anything that is adopted as a new project best practice. If you are getting better results due to a change in practice, then that&rsquo;s definitely worth celebrating!</li>
<li>Communicating effectively&nbsp;&ndash; You know that communication is important on all levels of projects and when the team know why something is happening or being changed, they are more likely to feel included and motivated.</li>
<li>Help to handle stress &ndash;&nbsp;Stress in the workplace is a major cause of unhappy staff and can be an unfortunate consequence of working in a technical environment. By creating the right balance where all employees have the same view of the project and are able to manage their work effectively makes it easier to track progress and support your technical team.</li>
</ul>
Keeping your employee retention rates higher reduces time and money spent on your recruitment- it&rsquo;s a no-brainer. But how else can this be achieved? Take a look at our recent article about<a href="https://www.eligo.co.uk/client-advice-insights/how-to-retain-your-tech-talent/">&nbsp;&lsquo;How to retain tech talent&rsquo;</a>&nbsp;which covers some factors to consider to effectively retain your talent.
&nbsp;
Reward and share the successes
If your company is profitable its reasonable that the technical team that helped to achieve such should share in its success. But we know that often money can be a tight resource for many start-ups and tech firms and regular pay rises may not be possible.
But it&rsquo;s not all about money &ndash; there are low-cost rewards that are equally effective and show your employees how important and integral to the business they are.
<ul>
<li>One to one coaching</li>
<li>Flexible working hours // Remote working</li>
<li>Generous annual leave</li>
<li>Time off to volunteer</li>
<li>Encourage team spirit through social events, incentives and team outings (which might come at a small cost)</li>
</ul>
These are just a few options for benefits that can be offered to your technical team, but the options are endless and only limited by creativity, to effectively reward your employees and keep them engaged and happy.
&nbsp;
Invest in your best
Investment in your team is worth its weight in gold if you treat your employees the way you would want to be treated. This can only reflect well on your business as a whole and there are a few ways this can be achieved;
<ul>
<li>Align your work with the values of the&nbsp;team&nbsp;&ndash; employees find it hard to stay motivated if they don&rsquo;t believe in what they are doing.</li>
<li>Treat them as experts&nbsp;&ndash; your tech team are experts in their field, so treat them as such! Encourage them to contribute to industry debates, community conferences,&nbsp;tech meetups&nbsp;and to share their knowledge internally too. (Along with senior members mentoring junior team members).</li>
<li>Nurture skills&nbsp;&ndash; Technical competencies must be nurtured, developed and expanded upon, hold sessions to learn new programming languages and create projects for your team to add to their portfolios.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Recruit smart employees
Recruiting smart employees means recruiting technical talent that is right for you and your business, in short, this can be a tricky thing to achieve without spending endless time in your search for the ideal candidate. So how can this be done without losing time and money on recruitment? &ndash; An excellent attraction strategy that considers;
<ul>
<li>Technology and product &ndash; are you using the best technology to attract the technical talent your way, are your projects substantive and fun to work on?</li>
<li>Salary &ndash;&nbsp;are you offering the right salary for your role? Have you considered comparing your offering to competitors in your industry?</li>
<li>Hiring process&nbsp;&ndash; implementing the right hiring process from the get-go is crucial to attracting the best software testers, test analysts and keeping the right employees in the long run.</li>
<li>Employee brand and culture&nbsp;&ndash; it&rsquo;s not all about bean bags and ping pong tables, it&rsquo;s about showing why you&rsquo;re a great company for great technical talent.</li>
<li>Extra Benefits&nbsp;&ndash; find out what motivates your potential candidates and incorporate them into your offering.</li>
</ul>
To find out more about how to use an excellent attraction strategy to grow your tech team and what you can&nbsp;be doing to ensure you have the best hires, read our article&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.eligo.co.uk/client-advice-insights/5-steps-to-attracting-the-best-software-testers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">5 steps to attracting software testers.</a>
&nbsp;
Considering these 4 ways to nurture and grow your tech team not only makes sense when it comes to the success of your business, but also because your team are a group of hardworking people that deserve it.
To find out how we can help with your hiring strategy which includes,&nbsp;attraction,&nbsp;selection,&nbsp;and&nbsp;retention,&nbsp;get in touch with us!
&nbsp;

Your Tech Team is Crucial to Business Success: 4 Ways to Nurture and Grow your Tech Team

Every company in the tech industry has their own methods of attracting, engaging, and hiring developers. Usually using well established hiring tactics such as the CV overview, technical test and a standard interview process with the senior developer and CTO. These &ldquo;standard&rdquo; hiring tactics, however, can often overlook one of the biggest debates that is ongoing in the hiring community; do you hire for personality or skill?
&nbsp;
In most cases, it will be essential to hire a developer for their skills over personality, as they will need to deliver on certain technology aspects for the business. However, there is an understanding that in today&rsquo;s world of ever-changing technology that it is fleeting and constantly replaced by newer shinier tech, ultimately skills on their CV cannot be depended upon.
&nbsp;
This causes a problem for hiring tactics based on CVs and technical tests, and can ignore the important factor of the individual personality of the developer and how it can help solve problems for the business. In other words, you can train for skillset on the job but you can&rsquo;t necessarily change an individual&rsquo;s personality.
&nbsp;
If a tech candidate, for example, has some relevant skills but less experience than others, they can impress the hiring manager by presenting that they are open to training, great at communicating and have a personality that fits with the company ethos.
&nbsp;
Eligo Fire and Security similarly discussed whether it was best to hire for product knowledge or attitude and habits, but when it comes to the technology industry, it&rsquo;s not an open and close case of personality versus skill. To get this far in the hiring stage the tech candidate will already have some relevant skills on their CV that are right for the role. It&rsquo;s more about identifying at the interview stage how the candidate will use those skills and existing knowledge in conjunction with their personality and attitude.
&nbsp;
But what hiring tactics can you use to identify the personality of a developer and help you make the best decision for your business?
A great hiring tactic to utilise would be to look for the soft skills, attitudes and behaviours within a developer and how they work in tandem with their technical skills. In a short video Scholar Ernest Wilson discusses the 5 &lsquo;soft skills&rsquo; employers look out for when hiring and promoting employees;
&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>360-degree thinking</li>
<li>being culturally competent</li>
<li>empathy</li>
<li>adaptability</li>
<li>Intellectual curiosity (in other words always looking to find out more and offer solutions to problems that arise &ndash; a common and desired attribute when working with software and tech.)</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
According to LinkedIn more employers are choosing to use these &ldquo;soft skills assessments&rdquo; that combine existing skills and insight into the intellectual, cognitive and personality qualities of the candidate.
&nbsp;
Developers that have a strong cognitive ability are more likely to learn and quickly pick up new skills of the role. You can easily measure this in the interview process by asking for examples of when they have had to learn a new technology, language or stack in previous roles or in their own time.
&nbsp;
You also know that if the developer gives a good example of how they have handled change within a business, then they would be preferable to a candidate that has a highly-credited degree and plenty of experience but isn&rsquo;t adaptable to situations.
&nbsp;
Behavioural interview tactics &ndash; asking the right questions
Another great hiring tactic that can help you learn a lot about a developer in the shortest amount of time is by asking behavioural interview questions such as &ldquo;What did you do to prepare for this interview?&rdquo;.
&nbsp;
With this single question, you can identify the personality of a developer, their learning mindset, how they approach problem-solving and just how important the role is to them. It also offers a real-life example of the individual&rsquo;s preparation that they put into an important project.
&nbsp;
If a company is agile based as most tech teams may well be, the candidate also needs to be able to communicate effectively with others. If they aren&rsquo;t great at communication (regardless of their skill) they will struggle to work in a team and help solve problems for the business.
&nbsp;
In order to gain an insight into the communication and emotional capability of the developer good questions to ask would include &ldquo;when was the last time you lost your temper?&rdquo; or &ldquo;what is the worst business relationship you have been in?&rdquo;.
&nbsp;
These types of questions are a good way to assess the candidate&rsquo;s maturity and find out what gets them emotionally driven, offering an insight into how they will work within a team environment.
&nbsp;
As well as interview questions, you may want to ascertain certain attributes and behaviours of a developer that are harder to find out through questioning. A psychometric test in conjunction with a well-crafted job brief and requirements that are agreed by all parties in the business, can be an effective way of easily highlighting the best candidates for your role whilst ensuring that time and money isn&rsquo;t being wasted.
&nbsp;
Making the right decision for your business
By utilising the hiring tactics of asking the right questions in the interview process to discover the personality and attributes of developer, you can begin to imagine and get an insight into what it would be like working with them.
&nbsp;
The first step before putting these hiring tactics into practice, is to find out which of the mentioned attributes and behaviours are essential for your business. It helps if you already have an idea of the type of developer you are looking for as it will be much easier to judge if their skills, attributes, and personality are right for the role.
&nbsp;
Do you hire based on personality or skill? What hiring tactics do you use to assess this? We would love to hear more! Get in touch with us on the usual contact details.
&nbsp;
________________________________________
If you need help defining which candidate attributes are essential for your role, your hiring tactics and how to assess them as part of your interview process, or any other questions regarding the right hiring strategy for your technology team, please don&rsquo;t hesitate to get in touch.
If your business doesn&rsquo;t have the capability of providing and running psychometric tests, Eligo technology can conduct these on your behalf! We offer a retained service called Eligo IQ that includes candidate behaviour and key competency assessments and video interviewing. Enabling you to conduct fewer interviews, prevent the wrong hire and reduce employee turnover.

The Problem with Hiring Tactics

There&rsquo;s no beating around the bush&nbsp;finding great testers is a tricky business.
Even once you have found the right tester, there&rsquo;s still the task of getting them through the door and interested in your company and role! So how can you do this?
Consider these five factors when attracting the best software testers, manual and automation testers, test analysts, and QA engineers.
&nbsp;
Technology and Product
Are you using the best technology in testing to attract the best software testers to your business? Is your product solid, substantive and fun to work on?
<ul>
<li>When it comes to your product, to attract the right testers your code and the environment it is running on needs to be enjoyable, cutting edge and enough of a challenge to feed that problem-solving hunger that most software testers have.</li>
<li>That also means offering meaningful testing challenges that are complex and susceptible to change for them to sink their teeth into.</li>
<li>Offer them the right tools for the job and make sure you also have a great manual and automated testing software for your type of business.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Salary
You may think salary is the most important to candidates, but it is not always the dominant factor. Whereas rewarding testers on their value to the company and role is.
<ul>
<li>Do you know the industry average for software testing roles such as the one you are trying to fill?</li>
<li>Take a look at our salary survey<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://r1.dotdigital-pages.com/p/4V9F-C34/technology-salary-guide-2023?pfredir=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&nbsp;here</a>&nbsp;that covers roles from test analyst to automation engineer and work out if you are paying competitive rates.</li>
<li>If you don&rsquo;t compare your salary offering then you may have to work harder on other selling points of the role or consider investing in a testing engineer with less experience to train up.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Hiring Process
Implementing the right hiring process is crucial to attracting the best software testers, test analysts and keeping the right individuals in the long run.
<ul>
<li>The first step when attracting the right candidate is to figure out exactly what your business is looking for. Avoid difficulty further down the line by having a clear understanding of the types of attributes that are important to the software testing role.</li>
<li>How are you attracting testing candidates? &ndash; consider using a copywriter to bring your job ads to life and sell your company better. Make your application process concise and simple, avoiding multiple stage interviews, which will also benefit from losing out to the competition.</li>
<li>Remember, hiring is a two-way process. Which means don&rsquo;t forget to sell the company&rsquo;s employer brand, culture and role to the candidate at each stage of the interview, offering why it would be better than the competition.</li>
<li>Are you judging testing candidates based purely on their C.V? &ndash; many companies make the mistake of hiring based on gut feeling, without giving attitudes and behaviours the time of day. We cover the problem with hiring tactics extensively&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.eligo.co.uk/client-advice-insights/the-problem-with-hiring-tactics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.</li>
<li>You can get to know the potential candidate through three levels of assessment; how they appear, what they can do and what they will be able to do.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
 Employer Brand and Culture
So you&rsquo;re not quite Google or Facebook but you are a great company none the less. You should be attracting the best software testers. I cover this extensively&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://eligo.co.uk/employehttps://www.eligo.co.uk/client-advice-insights/beyond-the-logo-your-employer-brand-and-why-you-re-not-attracting-the-best-developers/r-brand-attract-developers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>, but in short;
<ul>
<li>The Employer brand is more than a logo, a foosball table in the office and even free fruit Fridays.</li>
<li>Evaluating your employer brand requires you to step back, think about what your company stands for and what it&rsquo;s really like to work for you and show that you are offering more than just a paycheck.</li>
<li>Find out what your previous staff thought about you, look on Glassdoor, a review and information site for employers with anonymous submissions.</li>
</ul>
To fully evaluate your employer brand, take a look&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.eligo.co.uk/client-advice-insights/beyond-the-logo-your-employer-brand-and-why-you-re-not-attracting-the-best-developers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>!
It is possible to foster an inviting culture without breaking the bank and investing in the wellbeing of your staff, happy employees will spread the word and over time some of the best software testers will want to work within your business.
&nbsp;
Benefits
Find out what it is that motivates your potential new hire, and once you know what it is that will get them through the door- if you can &ndash; offer it to them.
<ul>
<li>Do you offer remote working?</li>
<li>How many holiday days do you offer excluding bank holidays?</li>
<li>Do you offer coaching, training and personal development for the candidate?</li>
<li>Do you offer small perks such as free lunch, perk box, cycle to work scheme?</li>
<li>What tools and equipment do you offer with the role; laptop/computer/phone?</li>
</ul>
When presenting the position to the candidate, consider offering a complete benefits package that includes the little things that you know will appeal to them.
&nbsp;
By taking into account the five factors mentioned above when you are attracting the best software testers, you will have a greater chance of bringing them into the fold and keeping them in the long run.
&nbsp;
At Eligo Technology, our mission is to help our clients recruit better. From helping you to benchmark salary expectations with our industry-wide knowledge and salary survey to writing creative copy for your job ads, improving your hiring process as a whole to reduce cost, and time and avoid any more hiring headaches in the future.
What&rsquo;s more, we know who and where to find the best software testers, test analysts, automation engineers, quality assurance engineers, manual testers, QA analysts and more.&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(237, 38, 140);" href="https://eligo.co.uk/contact-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Get in touch</a>&nbsp;today to discuss your testing recruitment needs!
0208 944 4180&nbsp;or email at&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="mailto:technology@eligo.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rick@eligo.co.uk</a>
&nbsp;

5 steps to attracting the best software testers

&nbsp;
There are many challenges that businesses take on day to day when running and growing their businesses, but one major challenge that&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="http://technation.techcityuk.com/digital-skills-jobs/digital-skills-shortage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">25% of digital businesses face</a>&nbsp;during the recruitment process is&nbsp;talent sourcing.
Why is this?
There is a tech skills shortage in the UK,&nbsp;with&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="http://technation.techcityuk.com/digital-skills-jobs/digital-skills-shortage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">50% of businesses</a>&nbsp;believing there to be a shortage of highly skilled employees out there. It&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/16232/2/ind-16-5-shadbolt-review-computer-science-graduate-employability_Redacted.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">predicted</a>&nbsp;by 2022 that 518,000 additional workers will be needed to fill the specialist roles vacant in the digital space.
So, facing this skills gap, what can be done to attract and hire the next generation of developers?
&nbsp;
Make skills a priority over education
Despite the popular myths, it is possible to become a software developer without going to university and gaining a formal degree. With so many online resources out there now, it&rsquo;s incredibly easy to access and learn programming, so, it comes as no surprise that over&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.stackoverflowbusiness.com/uk/talent/resources/developer-ecosystem/education" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">94% of UK developers consider themselves as self-taught</a>.
Many employers make the mistake of holding degree status as a strict criterion to be suitable for their role, and are missing out on highly skilled developers who have gained achievements through a non-traditional form education.
There are plenty of successful developers out there with great achievements in software without a formal degree in software engineering. The key is to let the good candidates come to you whatever their education, and allow them to prove their capability and skill.
In order to attract and hire the next generation of developers, it is essential to be flexible on education requirements and hire for skills not degrees!
&nbsp;
Nurture skills and continuous learning
In the technology industry everything changes quickly and for developers working in areas such as web or mobile development, it&rsquo;s essential to keep abreast of new technologies. Developers are now faced with a never-ending learning curve and according to Stack Overflow 87% of respondents to their&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.stackoverflowbusiness.com/uk/talent/resources/developer-ecosystem/education" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2017 UK &amp; Ireland Developer Hiring Landscape</a>&nbsp;survey, agree or strongly agree that &ldquo;learning new technologies is fun&rdquo;.
Developers love to learn, and you can answer that desire for lifelong learning by offering a career pathway that enables your employees to consistently build new skills and take on new challenges. Tech teams are eager to broaden their skillset, so by fulfilling the need for further development and education for your employees you are more likely to attract the next generation of developers who will want to come on board whilst continuing to learn.
&nbsp;
Hire for diversity&nbsp;
The progress on gender equality is still going at a painfully slow pace, and we still have a long way to go. When it comes to the current talent shortage, it could be significantly improved by encouraging and&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://eligo.co.uk/what-more-could-be-done-to-advance-women-in-tech/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">advancing more women</a>&nbsp;into the tech sector. But alas, women in tech are still severely underrepresented. Businesses rely on an overwhelmingly male workforce with&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="http://technation.techcityuk.com/digital-skills-jobs/digital-skills-shortage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">women in the majority for only 11% of these digital tech businesses.</a>
Tech companies can play a major role in attracting and retaining women within their workforce, as well as challenging stereotypes and cultural biases in the industry overall.
There are many ways to get into tech, and as we mentioned above there are a number of successful developers out there with great achievements in software without a formal degree in computer science. As&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.theguardian.com/break-into-tech/2017/oct/17/there-are-so-many-ways-into-tech-how-i-switched-from-literature-to-programming" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">one software engineer proves</a>&nbsp;&ldquo;having a successful career in Stem doesn&rsquo;t mean spending your teen years coding in a dark room&rdquo;.
&nbsp;
Employer branding is key
Sure, you&rsquo;re not quite Google or Facebook and nor should you want to be, you have a successful company, which is why you should be attracting some excellent talent. Take a look at any advice on&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://eligo.co.uk/attracting-best-software-testers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">attracting talent</a>&nbsp;and you will be told one of the key elements is your employer brand. We cover this in more detail&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.eligo.co.uk/client-advice-insights/beyond-the-logo-your-employer-brand-and-why-you-re-not-attracting-the-best-developers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>, but in order to attract the next generation of developers, you really need to take a step back and ask yourself questions such as; what does my company stand for? What is like to work for my company? The first step to improving is to work out where you may be going wrong, here&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.eligo.co.uk/client-advice-insights/beyond-the-logo-your-employer-brand-and-why-you-re-not-attracting-the-best-developers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">why you might be not attracting the best developers.</a>
&nbsp;&nbsp;
To attract and retain great developer talent, you should keep an open mind about non-traditional education backgrounds, offer continuous learning opportunities for your tech team, hire for diversity and re-think your employer branding.
If you are looking for help with your long-term hiring strategy that includes, talent pipelining talented technical candidates in line with your specific company goals, we can help. Eligo understands your requirements on a technical and personal level to ensure that as a business we&rsquo;ll save you both time and money.
Get in touch with us today!
<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="mailto:technology@eligo.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">technology@eligo.co.uk</a>&nbsp;//&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="mailto:rick@eligo.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rick@eligo.co.uk&nbsp;</a>&nbsp;//&nbsp;020 8944 4187
&nbsp;

How to attract and hire the next generation of developers   

Got 99 problems?&hellip; don&rsquo;t let your contract recruiter be one
&nbsp;
The role of a hiring manager is tough, with 99 seemingly endless problems filling your day, including finding the best contractors to fulfil your next project.
Partnering with a specialist contract recruiter is one way to solve your often-immediate hiring headache, until they become one themselves.
Do you ever feel there is something missing between what you are putting in with your contract recruiter partnership and what you&rsquo;re getting from it?
Historically, relationships between employers and contract recruiters have been tainted by a range of pressures and varying degrees of mistrust from both sides. So how can hiring managers and contract recruiters rebuild the trust and create a productive partnership to solve business problems going forward?
By asking the right questions!
Like most things, your hiring problem may just be solved by having an effective and honest conversation. Here are 5 questions to help you start that conversation and just why you should be asking them.
&nbsp;
Questions to ask your contract recruiter
&nbsp;
How much coverage do my vacancies receive?
First off, it&rsquo;s important to find out the coverage your vacancy will receive from your contract recruiter. You&rsquo;ll be able to ask further questions following this;
<ul>
<li>Does your contract recruiter stop what he&rsquo;s doing to service your role?</li>
<li>Do they have a team supporting them?</li>
<li>When they source candidates, do they jump on the first job board available or do they</li>
<li>search around?</li>
</ul>
The answers to these questions should give you a much clearer idea of the priority your role takes. Some recruiters have been known to place preference on businesses that they hold a longer relationship with and have easy roles to fill. This can mean new client roles miss out on the coverage they deserve.
&nbsp;
How long will it take for you to recruit for my role?
<ul>
<li>If filling your new role is time sensitive due to an upcoming project, it is important to qualify this quick turnaround with your contract recruiter.</li>
<li>Ask for an estimate of how long it will take to source candidates and get them across to you, and make sure expectations are set and managed on both sides</li>
<li>Setting up a service level agreement with the recruiter is one way of easily qualifying this. This can include the timescale that you need to fill the role as well as the full responsibilities of the hiring manager and the contract recruiter throughout the process.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
What is your sourcing process?
When you decide to invest your resources in a recruitment agency you expect to receive high-quality candidates that you may not have been able to find previously.
So before partnering with a contract recruiter you will want to find out how and where they are sourcing talent that is going to be sent your way;
<ul>
<li>Does the recruiter invest in other resources such as researchers and marketers?</li>
<li>If so, you know that they will be constantly pipelining the right talent for your role using effective methods such as social campaigns, creative adverts, attending networking and events.</li>
<li>What platforms do they use to source?&nbsp;If your contract recruiter tells you that they use LinkedIn to source candidates that fit the role then they are hardly doing more than you would have spent your own time doing (for free). However, if they use it to create a database of high calibre, passive candidates that you never knew existed, you already know you are getting your money&rsquo;s worth.</li>
</ul>
The same goes for asking the recruiter about their screening and interviewing process as in the long run you want to know you&rsquo;re going to receive a first-class shortlist of candidates.
Background work in an effective sourcing process is ongoing but the roles get covered quickly and efficiently; it&rsquo;s like watching a Snooker player hit a 147 break!
&nbsp;
How well do you know my market &ndash; how involved are you in the community?
How many times have you heard
&ldquo;Hi, I&rsquo;m a specialist (insert skill) recruiter&rdquo;?
The term &lsquo;specialist&rsquo; can easily start to lose its validity with overuse, however, one way to find out if the recruiter truly knows their industry and the community is to ask them;
<ul>
<li>What tech events do they attend?</li>
<li>Do they host or attend tech meetups?</li>
<li>How are they actively involved in the Technology community?</li>
</ul>
Working with a contract recruiter that spends time &lsquo;in the field&rsquo; networking and learning about the tech they recruit for is easy to spot &ndash; they&rsquo;re credible and have a black book of contacts to hand.
A lot of tech communities are very protective of themselves and what they do and it takes a long time for a recruiter to earn their respect. When a recruiter achieves this respect and is fully involved in a tech community, you know there is a genuine interest and they have put in the legwork to get there.
&nbsp;
Can you tell me about your client base?
<ul>
<li>While vacancies tend to be driven by the type of technologies being used, a contract recruiter working with similar businesses to you will always have the inside track on the pros and cons of the environment that comes with it.</li>
<li>To gain an understanding of the contract recruiter&rsquo;s knowledge of the market and your type of business, it can be helpful to find out other clients that they work with. Ask the recruiter to provide client testimonials and case studies so you can see the experience from another companies point of view.</li>
<li>These questions will serve as a foundation for everything that follows in your partnership to ensure you are receiving a full 360 service, and provide you peace of mind that there is one less problem on your never-ending list.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
If you feel you&rsquo;re not getting what you need from your current recruiter, get in touch with me today. I would love to help you with your contract technology role&nbsp;and offer the best candidates to help you achieve success with your current or upcoming projects.
Contact via:&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="mailto:tomt@eligo.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">technology@eligo.co.uk</a>&nbsp;&ndash; 0208 944 4180
&nbsp;

Questions to ask your contract recruiter

What does a typical conversation with a recruiter usually sound like to you?
A couple of days ago I was having a conversation with a potential new client who was looking to hire following the exit of a long term employee. They had since hired someone else but that had unfortunately not worked out.
In pursuit of a better hire the Director had gone out to their own personal network with no joy; candidates were not hungry enough, too stuck in their ways, and had unrealistic expectations. What he wanted was someone who was still improving in their abilities, driven, hungry, motivated to open new doors, open-minded to new ideas and able to learn yet have significant experience selling into the Fire &amp; Security market, contacts, as well as, ideally, time spent working at another manufacturer.
&ldquo;A pretty standard sales person, &rdquo; he said.
At this point the corners of my mouth started to curve; I couldn&rsquo;t help but let out a small chuckle followed by a knowing smile&hellip;
Confused, the client paused for a moment and then asked: &ldquo;was it something I said?&rdquo;
&ldquo;Well&rdquo;, I told him, &ldquo;Is it?&rdquo;
&ldquo;Is it what&rdquo; he mused, not totally following.
&ldquo;Bearing in mind you have been in the industry for 22 years and have met plenty of salespeople in this industry, and that you have looked for someone yourself, asked all of your colleagues to do the same, and reached out to your network for the last 2 months and not been able to find anyone that met your requirements, is it such a standard sales person?&rdquo;
Finally, the penny dropped, this time it was my client who was smiling like a Cheshire cat.
&ldquo;Shall we start again?&rdquo;
We quickly moved into a conversation about the habits &amp; behaviours that would be needed for the role but just as importantly why someone that exhibits these should join their company rather than any of their competitors. An hour later and we had an agreed a brief, terms and a follow-up call.
That&rsquo;s what a conversation with so many new clients can sound like.
An (in)convenient truth
These conversations are important and all too often overlooked. It&rsquo;s especially important for you to be honest with your recruiter, and most importantly, it&rsquo;s important for them to be honest with you.
The hardest part is then taking that conversation to the next level and putting in the work to achieve the desired end result.
You may think by refusing to answer your recruiter&rsquo;s questions or setting time aside to talk is a time-saving exercise on your part;&nbsp;I know, you&rsquo;re probably extremely busy. Time spent in building and agreeing on the brief, however, will mean time saved not interviewing unsuitable candidates, time saved&nbsp;still&nbsp;trying to find the right hire, and ultimately, money saved by hiring the best as soon as possible and not having to fire them 6 months later due to mismanaged expectations.
If your recruiter isn&rsquo;t asking insightful questions in the first place (tip &ndash; the best candidates should be too), then it&rsquo;s time to think carefully about the decision you&rsquo;ve made to go with that recruiter too.
You&rsquo;ve partnered with a recruiter in order to get the best talent in front of you. If their job simply consists of taking a job spec and list of duties as a means of determining cultural fit and likelihood of success as well as the quality of the candidate, it may be time to walk away. The reality is, the wrong recruiter can do more brand damage than good if they don&rsquo;t properly understand the concerns people may have on the market.
You&rsquo;re looking for a wider selection of specialist qualities in your next hire; why wouldn&rsquo;t you look for specialist qualities in the recruiter you choose to work with?
A pretty standard way to achieve results
The solution to most of the client&rsquo;s problems I speak with is simple, however like most things in life they take a bit of effort, time, and understanding.
When you try to take shortcuts the likelihood is you&rsquo;ll end up circling around and trying to do it all over again.
So next time you&rsquo;re about to have a typical conversation take some time to think about it first and be prepared to offer something a little bit extra. In return, you&rsquo;ll see a return of a whole lot more.
&ldquo;If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got&rdquo;
&nbsp;

Hiring a superstar is easy…

<h5>Frankly, I&rsquo;m staggered by the number of business owners and hiring managers who complain about their salespeople &hellip; when they were usually the fools who hired them in the first place. ​</h5>
<h5>&nbsp;</h5>
<h5>Bad salespeople in your organisation are a symptom of management problems;&nbsp;bad management is the primary cause, and&nbsp;the problems start with bad recruitment.</h5>
And bad recruitment is heart-stoppingly expensive. Read on and discover why a bad sales hire can cost you as much as 30 to 125 times the basic salary you pay the salesperson who doesn&rsquo;t work out in your role.&nbsp;I&rsquo;m not even going to trouble you with the calculation of what a bad sales management hire can cost you. I repeat,&nbsp;30 to 125 times base salary.
So next time you think recruitment is a chore that interferes with your &ldquo;day job&rdquo;, or next time you go for the low cost provider and get them to work on contingency where they have NO LOYALTY and will sell their best candidates to the highest bidder, reconsider, and think about paying one recruiter, on an exclusive arrangement, retained too to make sure you have their FULL ATTENTION. Before you throw your hands up in anger, and write vitriolic comments that I don&rsquo;t know what I&rsquo;m talking about, ask yourself this question:
&ldquo;If I had hired a strong salesperson instead of settling on the one I did hire who is &ldquo;causing&rdquo; me all these problems, how likely is it I&rsquo;d be facing all these problems today?&rdquo;
I thought so.
Let me dig a little deeper. What was your recruitment process? Did you dig out an old job description and then use that as your brief for your next hire? Or did you take the time to design your ideal candidate? What are the predictors of success in the role you were trying to fill? Were you clear about the MUST HAVE characteristics? Assuming you even bothered to work that out, did you them compromise in order to get a warm body on a seat or did you hold fast until you found the right candidate?
What are the predictors of success in a sales role?
When I help my clients recruit we are always focused on finding candidates who meet the following&nbsp;demonstrable, habituated&nbsp;criteria:
<ul>
<li>Ambition and Drive</li>
<li>Takes Action</li>
<li>Accepts Responsibility</li>
<li>Sales Prospecting</li>
<li>Control and Close</li>
</ul>
In addition I advise them to look for:
<ul>
<li>Coachability</li>
<li>Curiosity</li>
<li>Repeated, Consistent Prior Success</li>
<li>Intelligence</li>
<li>Work Ethic</li>
</ul>
Then we design the ideal candidate so when we see them, we recognise them. We build a hiring template, interview questions that ensure we are selecting only candidates who meet these high standards of&nbsp;habituated behaviour, attitudes and beliefs, and the cognitive abilities&nbsp;to be able to adapt to the changing market conditions and resilience to the obstacles they will face.
We develop a hiring scorecard so we can compare like with like and&nbsp;keep our personal feelings in check,&nbsp;to prevent us from hiring someone we like but who can&rsquo;t do the job. Let&rsquo;s face it, the one thing salespeople usually can sell is themselves at interview. That doesn&rsquo;t mean they can succeed in the role for which you are hiring.
I would rather they didn&rsquo;t hire someone than they hired the wrong person.Wrong hires are the single highest hidden cost in any business.
We set clear expectations about what is going to happen from the outset and maintain that clarity throughout the life cycle of the interview process, the offer and notice period, the on boarding process and throughout their tenure in the business.&nbsp;Ambiguity is the mother of all mismatched expectations.
We develop a clear on boarding plan that covers&nbsp;the first 120 days, the time when the new hire is putting you and your company on probation. Our intention is to set them up for success. Fail to do this and you run the high risk of setting up even an A-player, for failure.
We are absolutely clear about the 30-day red flags that would result in an earlytermination of a new hire so if we have made a mistake we can remedy our error quickly. And we aren&rsquo;t afraid to apply them when we see them.&nbsp;&ldquo;Better no breath than bad breath on a sales territory.&rdquo;
I have another tough question for you managers. Do you spend more than 3% of your time managing your people? If your answer is yes, why?
Are you spending 97% of your time helping your salespeople be better salespeople through training, coaching and mentoring since that is your job? Your job is to clear the path so they can do their best work every day. Your job is get the best out of them. Are you going out into the field and observing them in action? Are you helping them develop pre-call plans and running post-call debriefs so every visit is a learning opportunity?
Or are you &ldquo;managing&rdquo; from an ivory tower? Are you trying to manage the numbers (that&rsquo;s impossible BTW, because once the number is in, you can&rsquo;t do anything about it and at best, you are doing a supervisory role not a management role)?
<h4 class="ql-align-center">So, What is&nbsp;The True Cost of Just 1 Wrong&nbsp;Sales&nbsp;Hire?</h4>
Please use your own numbers for this exercise.
How much do you pay them? (basic salary, guaranteed commissions, health insurance, pension, life insurance).&nbsp;What does that cost you?
How much does it cost you to run 1 salesperson? (expenses, phone, car, subsistence, travel, training, provisioning them with equipment, business cards, computer, demo kit) &ndash; typically 3x salary is a rule of thumb.&nbsp;What does that cost you?
When you&rsquo;ve hired the wrong salespeople what does it cost you for them to burnthrough viable leads?
How much line management time is spent in briefing recruiters, advertising the job, sifting CVs and applications, telephone interviews, preparing for face to face interviews, arranging interviews, following up, writing up interview reports, writing to unsuccessful candidates, call backs, arranging second interviews, reporting back to senior management multiplied by their hourly rate?&nbsp;[10-30 hours is not unusual &ndash; what is the opportunity cost of that time].&nbsp;What does that cost you?
How many interviews do you typically go through?
How much additional management time is tied up (HR, senior management, 2nd interviewers etc) with internal discussions on each position x hourly rate?&nbsp;[For senior positions this can be as high as 8-24 hours &ndash; what is the opportunity cost in your business for that time?]
Do you use recruiters?
How much do&nbsp;you spend on fees? 10%, 15%, 18%, 20%, 25%, 30%, more of basic salary? Or do they charge you on total package? Guaranteed earnings?&nbsp;What does that cost you?
What&rsquo;s your interview to hire ratio look like? Do you typically have to interview 3, 5, 10 or more candidates before you find one you want to hire? How many interviews does that entail? 2, 3, 5 or more?&nbsp;What does that cost you?
Once you&rsquo;ve hired a salesperson, what&rsquo;s the average target for a new hire? &pound;250,000, &pound;350,000, &pound;500,000, &pound;1,000,000, &pound;3,000,000 or more?
What&rsquo;s their ramp up time? 4 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 12 month or longer? During their ramp up period what percentage of their pro-rated first year annual target will they fall short? 20%, 40%? How much does that equate to in cash terms? Is that profit or revenue?&nbsp;What does that cost you?
If you look at your average salesperson, what percentage of target are they actually bringing home? 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 100% or more? If they are below 100%, on average&nbsp;what does that cost you per salesperson?
How long do you usually hang on to an underperforming salesperson after you realise they aren&rsquo;t performing to target?&nbsp;What does that cost you per salesperson before you fire them and seek a replacement?
When you have hired the wrong salesperson in the past what is the cost of leads and marketing that they have burned through without bringing in new business?&nbsp;What does that cost you?
When you&rsquo;ve hired the wrong salesperson in the past, have they lost you any customers? Did a competitor pick up that account? What was it worth annually?&nbsp;Take the lost income and double it&nbsp;because what came out of your pocket, went into a competitor&rsquo;s pocket.
What is the average customer lifetime? 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years, or more? If a bad hire lost you an account, how many years are you locked out?&nbsp;Multiply the annual income by the number of years they got you locked out&nbsp;of that account to come up with a cash value of the losses?
How many accounts did they lose you?&nbsp;Add up all the revenues they lost you over their time on your payroll?
How many of your existing accounts that the bad salesperson was responsible for have growth potential? Did they have similar growth potential when this bad salesperson was responsible for growing them?&nbsp;How much money did s/he leave on the table? Did that create opportunities for your competition to come sniffing around, getting a foothold and putting your account at risk?&nbsp;What potential losses are you facing today even though you fired them?
What does that equate to in annual renewals, maintenance, cross sells, up sells and referrals if you extrapolate thee money they&rsquo;ve left on the table over the customer lifetime?&nbsp;What&rsquo;s the cash value?
What is the average lifetime customer value of a new client? If you take the number of new accounts the bad salesperson actually brought in and compare that against the number of accounts they&nbsp;should&nbsp;have brought in, and you multiply that number against the average lifetime customer value of a new customer, does that number make you wince?
LCV = AOV x AOF x CL +R
<ul>
<li>LCV = lifetime customer value</li>
<li>AOV = average order value</li>
<li>AOF = average order&nbsp;frequency</li>
<li>R = annual referrals&rsquo; value</li>
</ul>
Hypothetically,&nbsp;if your AOV&nbsp;is &pound;5,000 and their AOF is 4 times per year, they stay a client for 4 years and bring you zero referrals,&nbsp;if they have lost you (12 clients over 2 years) with an average lifetime customer value (LCV) of (&pound;80,000) would it be fair to say they have so far cost you (12 x &pound;80k = &pound;960,000)? Is that correct?
How do you feel about that?
Understand this depressing fact.&nbsp;Their salary and running costs, the recruitment fees, training costs and expenses pale into insignificance when you you compare the hidden costs of a bad hire.
But it gets worse &hellip;
What percentage of your sales team are hitting target today?
How long have you tolerated underperformance in your sales team before making the decision to fire and replace them?
How many wrong hires have you had in the last 2 or 3 years?
What is the growth potential your current salespeople are leaving on the table annually?
I could go on, but I don&rsquo;t want any of my dear readers leaping off a tall building or slitting their wrists when you realise the true cost of a wrong hire.
You&rsquo;ve missed my&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125); background-color: transparent;" href="http://www.southeast.sandler.com/eventcalendar/?month=05&amp;year=2016&amp;date=1462431600#DayAnchor" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2 day bootcamp on how to prevent bad hires</a>, but if you&rsquo;d like to sign up for my next one, drop me an email at&nbsp;mcauchi@sandler.com&nbsp;or if you can&rsquo;t wait to stop the blood loss in your business, call me, invite me in and let me bring a ray of sunshine to your otherwise uncomplicated and near perfect day!
Read more from Marcus on his&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: transparent;" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandlersalesmanagementtrainer?trk=pulse-det-athr_prof-art_hdr" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">LinkedIn</a>&nbsp;or contact him at&nbsp;mcauchi@sandler.com

The True Cost of Wrong Sales Hires Is …?

<h5><a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125); background-color: transparent;" href="https://twitter.com/hosteuropejobs?lang=en-gb" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Adam Reynolds</a>&nbsp;is a talent manager and&nbsp;group head of recruitment at Host Europe Group,&nbsp;Europe&rsquo;s leading web hosting business. As well as managing the talent pipeline at HEG, he&rsquo;s also an avid blogger and all round recruiting geek. Combining all of these elements he&rsquo;s kindly written a guest blog below.</h5>
​
One of the things I love most about social platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter is the opportunity to listen to what my peer group has to say about their role in recruitment. In particular, I enjoy listening to ex-agency recruiters turned in-house recruiters discuss how they will &ldquo;go it alone&rdquo; with a &ldquo;who needs an agency&rdquo; type maverick attitude. This is archetypal schadenfreude. The reason I know this is that this was once me. One quickly learns from such mistakes. Usually at the point where line managers email subject title has progressed from &ldquo;New hire &ndash; any news?&rdquo;&nbsp;To &ldquo;where the hell is my new team member???&rdquo;
&nbsp;
It is true, companies wouldn&rsquo;t fork out for an in-house recruitment expert if the majority of roles requisitioned were simply outsourced to an agency. However, in my experience, a symbiotic relationship must be established with a handful of specialist agencies for the life of the in-house recruiter to be anything other than a stampede of angry stakeholders, disappointed line managers, and woefully lowly KPI&rsquo;s.
Careful selection is the key here. Agencies should be selected within a meritocratic framework. Networking with peers to get stories of success and of course, failure,&nbsp;are essential and a try-before-you-buy option should be mandatory if thinking about adding to your PSL.
&nbsp;
I work within a fairly typical SME type business where I am requested daily to source a range of roles doing technical things that I will never fully understand. This is not limited to IT, it includes finance, marketing, HR (although I do know this area, thankfully!), Product Management, Legal, Sales, and Support. I like to think I&rsquo;m a relatively bright guy, I retain information, I make notes, I ask questions but to expect any recruiter to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of every role they hire, in particular the technical ones is short sighted. As such utilising the knowledge and skills of an experienced and specialist recruiter, for me is essential.
I have used Eligo as a Tier 1 PSL agency for many years now and they have the right blend of rapport, professionalism, expertise and industry knowledge. My contacts there have always taken the time to understand our business and work with, not against our idiosyncrasies! That, sometimes is all you need!

Guest Blog: Talent Managers Using Agencies: The Benefits

You&rsquo;re a great company, really, you are.&nbsp;You should be attracting some excellent talent; sure, there&rsquo;s a shortage of developers, particularly Perl, Ruby, Java etc., but that&rsquo;s all the more reason why the talent that there is should be working for you.
So you&rsquo;re not quite Google or Facebook, or [<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.tryexponent.com/blog/best-tech-companies-to-work-for" target="_blank" rel="noopener">insert one of any other popular tech brands here</a>], maybe you are: it&rsquo;s&nbsp;still possible. Read any advice on attracting talent and, you&rsquo;ll be told the first step is to look at your&nbsp;employer brand, and it is, as long as you understand that this is more than your logo, a foosball table in the office, or even free fruit on Fridays. Looking at your employer brand requires you to step back, think about what your company stands for, and what it really is like to work for you.
You&rsquo;ll never improve if you haven&rsquo;t worked out where you&rsquo;re going wrong first. Below I&rsquo;ll take a look at six key areas of your employer brand that you should assess to find out why you&rsquo;re not attracting the best developers. Once you start considering and figuring out one area, the others &ndash; like pieces of a puzzle &ndash; will start falling into place.
Step One: Step Back
Take stock of what you have and what you are.&nbsp;
What&rsquo;s working at your company? What do your employees truly love about working for you? How does this reputation supersede the organisation and extend to wider communities?
Even in a world dominated by google and social media, if word passes amongst developers that there is a good thing going on at your company, it&rsquo;ll have a positive effect on your hiring; word of mouth and reputation is still king, and has only been accentuated by these.
Try googling or searching twitter for your company. The internet knows how to tell it straight, you may not agree with it all, but that&rsquo;s okay. If there is a pattern occurring it might be time to think about what&rsquo;s going wrong.
Is your reputation fair? How has it been earned?
There are a couple of factors at play with your reputation. It can be earned through success, &ldquo;game-changing&rdquo; innovation, culture, rewards &amp; incentives, PR, and crucially the people at the heart of your organisation, particularly the management.
Who leads your team? How respected are they? Have they come from a highly regarded tech and development background or maybe promoted within?
Your staff are your key sell: for your product, service, and hiring strategy. If you&rsquo;ve promoted a superstar from within, they&rsquo;ve obviously been given a culture in which they can grow and thrive;&nbsp;tell that story! If you&rsquo;ve managed to poach a tech heavyweight, you must have something they believe in so others will too; to paraphrase Kevin Costner, &ldquo;if you build it&nbsp;[a team of talented, supported, and happy developers],&nbsp;they&nbsp;[the rest of the best]&nbsp;will come&rdquo;.
&nbsp;
The Ex
We&rsquo;ve all been through a break up. When it comes to your employees however, it&rsquo;s a separation you&rsquo;d rather wasn&rsquo;t fought out on an episode of Jeremy Kyle. Whilst your current staff can be a great selling point and are the centre point of your employer brand, they lay above the foundations of the staff of futures past.
Have you ever asked what your ex-staff have to say about working at your company? Do you know why they left? Is there anything that would have made them stay?
Of course, there&rsquo;s the usual reasons. &ldquo;I wanted to progress my career further&rdquo; and &ldquo;I was offered a package I couldn&rsquo;t turn down&rdquo;, which seem fair enough on the surface, but can, in certain circumstances, be looked at as areas to improve for the future (we&rsquo;ll come to this).
The underlying truth for some, however, is simply that they thought their boss was incompetent, and probably a bit of an arse. How many times have you heard that&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/22/challenge-of-management_n_5374820.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">people don&rsquo;t leave a bad company, they leave bad management</a>,&nbsp;and there are hundreds of studies out there backing it up.
What do your ex staff really think about you?
Back to the internet search again. Try&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/index.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Glassdoor</a>, a review and information site on employers with submissions entirely anonymous detailing what the people that once worked for you really thought. Remember that whilst it might come across as a personal insult, all comments are points you can build on and develop your employer brand for the better.
&nbsp;
 The Foosball Table
​&hellip;and the free fruit, and the space invaders arcade machine, and thirsty Thursdays, and come to work with your next door neighbour&rsquo;s parent&rsquo;s pet day. Okay &ndash; joking aside (some of these can truly add a nice feel to your workplace), culture is a crucial component to your employer brand, especially so within the development community.
The Perl world, for example, is a small one where the majority of developers know each other well, and as such emphasises the importance of a culture built on a strong team ethic and close-knit working environment. With this in place, your culture should thrive, given you also taken in some of the above points throughout this article
 (you should start to see those puzzle pieces falling into place).
The easiest way to sell a company to a potential candidate is by demonstrating this core culture that has further been built on the foundations of nurture and development.
Are there opportunities to develop and grow within your organisation? Do you offer extra support? Do you promote from within? Are you allowing your employees to express themselves?
All of this will cultivate a creative environment where your staff have truly bought into the company culture and will thrive on this, pushing the company and employer brand further.
&nbsp;
More than just a paycheque
Contrary to Jerry Maguire&rsquo;s favourite turn of phrase, it&rsquo;s not all about showing the candidate the money. Offer more than just a pay cheque.
What do your employees see as added benefits of working at your company? What could really round out a package and make your workplace a more enjoyable, easier place to be?&nbsp;
For some, it&rsquo;s offering the option of remote work, flexible hours or additional holidays, for others it&rsquo;s helping out with a season ticket loan for travel, or setting aside budgets for training, events, and more. Think about things that will really live and breathe your company culture, things that your developers will love and look forward too. Think annual hackathons or weekly lunch clubs. Go one further and reach out to your staff and see what they would like.
&nbsp;
Community
Where most employers fall down when it comes to their employer brand is that they will talk the talk, but rarely walk the walk. Perhaps there are the best intentions but they&rsquo;re truly not in touch with their workforce, perhaps they have just failed to ask themselves some of these questions.
When it comes to developers and the development community, it&rsquo;s hard to fake it. Having attended, sponsored, and spoken at various tech and language focused events across the UK and Europe, it&rsquo;s hard not to be enamoured by the community spirit that lives amongst developers.
Does your company have support or have space to offer for tech meetups such as Perl Mongers? Do you allow time for developers to work on CPAN projects? Do you support your developers in attending events such as LPW or YAPC?
It&rsquo;s where you&rsquo;ll find the best and most passionate developers out there, and it&rsquo;s where those such as your staff will continue to thrive and bring back new ideas for your organisation, they&rsquo;ll appreciate it too!
&nbsp;
So what shall I do?
The reality is that by reading this, taking stock, and questioning where your employer brand sits in each of these categories, you&rsquo;ve already done more than most.
Remember that although each section of your employer brand is intertwined, your staff are at the heart of it all. So if there was anywhere to start it&rsquo;s there. Ensure your current employees truly do buy into your employer brand, and that they, as well as you, share it as far and wide as you wish.
Like your company, your employer brand will never stand still and will evolve and develop with time, and unlike your logo, can&rsquo;t be knocked up in a day by an intern on MS paint.
&nbsp;
Good luck!
&nbsp;
If you&rsquo;d like to talk more about what developers are currently looking for in a company or what you can further do to attract the best developers and increase your employer brand, please don&rsquo;t hesitate to <a href="https://eligo.co.uk/contact-us">get in touch.</a>
&nbsp;

Beyond the logo - Your employer brand and why you’re not attracting the best developers

How to interview successfully
&nbsp;
<a style="color: rgb(229, 40, 125);" href="http://eligo.msgfocus.com/k/Eligo/client_interview_questions_doc_request%20%E2%80%8B" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Download Interview Questions to Ask</a>&nbsp;here
Interviewing can be one of the most demanding and important parts of the recruitment process. We are often surprised at the amount of employers that don&rsquo;t know how to interview successfully, instead opting to wing it. Knowing how to interview successfully will lead you to recruit the best candidates, therefore it is important to consider your interview strategy to ensure a successful interview process.
When interviewing, each party involved needs to find a balance between selling themselves and gathering enough information to make the best, most informed decision. Interviewers sometimes forget this and go too heavy on grilling a candidate and forget it&rsquo;s their job to sell both the role and the company. Alternatively it can go the other way and can be a great chat but at the end of the process they are no closer to knowing whether the interviewee can do the job or would fit in with the team!
How to interview successfully
Make sure you take time to strategise and consider how to interview for the roles you&rsquo;re looking to fill. It is imperative for companies to ensure the interview process is as seamless and effective as possible, otherwise it can be a costly &amp; timely process, but it doesn&rsquo;t have to be. Follow the below checklist and you&rsquo;ll be on your way to knowing how to interview successfully.
Considering how to interview your candidates&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Have you reviewed the job needs again and how you will assess the candidate&rsquo;s knowledge, skills, abilities, traits or characteristics?</li>
<li>Have you devised a clear interview structure? An interview should follow a logical, well thought out progression. Poor planning can be perceived as disorganised and unprofessional.</li>
<li>Have you got clearly defined objectives and a plan of action to follow after the interview?</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Ask yourself the following questions in order to formulate your interview strategy&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>How many interviews stages do you need to hold 1, 2 or 3?</li>
<li>Who is most appropriate to hold the interviews at each stage?</li>
<li>Will the candidate need to do a presentation, a skills test or psychometric?</li>
<li>How long will each interview last?</li>
<li>What is the duration of the interview process i.e. when will the 1st&nbsp;and 2nd&nbsp;take place and when will you make a decision, what is an ideal start date? Don&rsquo;t lose momentum as this can result in losing candidates and have to start the interview process again.</li>
<li>What set questions will we ask each candidate? Have you considered using the<a style="color: rgb(237, 38, 140);" href="https://eligo.co.uk/star-interview-answer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">&nbsp;S.T.A.R interview method?</a></li>
</ul>
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Ensure that you and the candidate have concluded on common ground. Don&rsquo;t forget to close the interview appropriately; it is likely to leave a lasting impression with the candidate. Review the next steps with a clear and honest timetable. Ensure a friendly and honest approach right to the end of the interview; don&rsquo;t give false encouragement or go into details for rejection.
Job offers are a big decision and they should be an informed and considered decision. So take the opportunity to get it right and not waste yours or anyone else&rsquo;s time. A successful interview will both enable you to assess a candidate properly, whilst selling your company as a place where the candidate will want to work.
&nbsp;
 As a leading London recruitment agency, at Eligo we have a team of specialist recruiters who specialise in fulfilling your recruitment needs. We&rsquo;d love to discuss how we can help your company deliver a successful recruitment process.
If you would like to speak to us about working together please&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(237, 38, 140);" href="https://eligo.co.uk/submit-a-vacancy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">click here</a>&nbsp;or call&nbsp;0208 944 4190.
If you would like to keep up to date with us on&nbsp;<a style="color: rgb(237, 38, 140);" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/eligo-recruitment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">linkedin</a>
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Client Advice